On the heels of a wildly successful partnership with Choice Properties to produce Dominoes in 2024, Orit Sarfaty, VP Sustainability and Placemaking at Choice Properties, and Ilana Altman, our Co-Executive Director at The Bentway, sit down to celebrate the magic of this project and chart a path forward for future collaborations.
Ilana (IA): We were delighted to have Choice as the Presenting Sponsor of Dominoes, one of our most resonant and far-reaching projects to date. Can you share more about what excited Choice about this project and what the partnership meant for you?
Orit (OS): Choice is dedicated to creating places where people thrive. Through our social impact work and placemaking efforts, we seek to transform our neighbourhood retail centres into the hearts of their community. The Dominoes event promised to thread through the neighborhood in and around our West Block site. We wanted to support such an exciting effort plus to weave West Block into the broader neighborhood in a fun and dynamic way.
IA: We’re neighbours, of course, with Choice operating a complex just 1 block west of The Bentway Skate Trail. What was it like to see Dominoes unfold onsite at West Block? How does it fit into your goals for the space?
OS: Oh my goodness, what a thrill to be part of the action on the day of the event! We saw our residents and shoppers grow increasingly more curious from the time we were setting up to the moments before the first domino fell. By then, people were camped out on our courtyard steps, hoping to be part of the action. The feeling was electric. It was also so participatory that, for me, it really defined why we are in the work of real estate. We help to build communities.
IA: In the end, we relied on over 300 volunteers to bring Dominoes to life, and many of those volunteers were from Choice. Your team quite literally rolled up their sleeves to make it happen!
OS: We pride ourselves in having a workplace culture that believes in giving back. Every year, our staff collectively volunteers over 1,200 hours to worthwhile causes. This event was no different. Staff clamored to be part of the experience. The team-building and a common belief that we were part of something bigger drew out the best in our staff. And the memories of that day will stay with us forever.
IA: As a real estate trust, you are uniquely invested in how communities grow through placemaking and social cohesion. How has your partnership with The Bentway informed your approach to working in community at your other sites across the city?
OS: The Bentway has made community-building cool and hip! From design to implementation, there is this energy and dynamism that we’ve all come to expect from programs and exhibitions under the Gardiner. That’s been inspiring for us as well in our own efforts to build community through placemaking. We believe that everyone, no matter where they are and what they’re doing, is entitled to an injection of joy in their lives. All the more so when it’s unexpected and woven in the span of day-to-day routines like grabbing groceries for Sunday dinner at one of our retail centres. The Bentway has succeeded in making a space that may have been overlooked become the centre of joy, community, and fun!
IA: We were also thrilled to welcome Choice Properties as our Presenting Partners for the newly formed Gardiner Corridor Alliance (GCA). With our overlapping interests in an expanded public realm, and the future of spaces under the Gardiner in particular, this was a natural progression. How does Choice see this partnership evolving and what shared outcomes are you hoping to achieve?
OS: Being part of a larger effort to strengthen community is very important to us. The work we do – the sites we develop and the tenants we support – is felt by residents every day, every season, every year. So, the health and vitality of the environment around us is just as important to us as maintaining high standards for our own sites. The GCA is a manifestation of that commitment shared with other developers committed to the same thing.
IA: And what advice would you have for other private sector companies wanting to partner with not-for-profit organizations like The Bentway in achieving their social impact goals?
OS: We believe in community because it’s the right thing to do and also because it is at the centre of our business. For any company that relies on a thriving neighbourhood for its employment base, its future shoppers, tenants, or investors, partnering with like-minded not-for-profit organizations like The Bentway is a no-brainer. We’re proud to see our logo attached to The Bentway.