Michael Commerford

Negotiated settlements for fee simple, permanent and temporary easements, licenses and permission requests for the GO Expansion and SmartTrack programs in support of legal services and the Expropriation Act. Developed a property acquisition overview process for different agreement types.

Managed consultants and internal/external stakeholders to obtain pre-acquisition requirements including surveys, appraisals, negotiators, and environmental reports. Provided expertise to mitigate risks while complying with design and scheduling needs.

Supervised identification of project lands (fee simple, permanent/temporary easements, permission to enter, access agreements, site-specific contracts, and lease agreements) for the Finch West LRT from 30% to 100% design. Facilitated cross-department meetings to keep the construction critical path on track and chaired property working group meetings for door closure access reporting.

Standardized property workflows by developing an automated Smartsheet database that tracked changes through rules, alerts, and requisition forms for property sales. Improved consistency of change tracking across ongoing property activities.

Grew total net revenues from 149th to 9th in Ontario within the first six months. Led Southwestern Ontario independent business growth with +16.8% total net revenues in 2019 and achieved year-over-year total net revenue and total volume growth across 2018–2020.

Directed multiple development sites from initial acquisition through preliminary designs, planning and engineering approvals, tendering, and building permit stages. Acquired approvals for draft and final plans of condominium and subdivisions, zoning amendments, site plan clearances, part lot control applications, severance applications, minor variances, and sign and building permits.

Developed real estate underwriting models including acquisition models, proformas, due diligence checklists, and development trackers. Maintained project budgets and tracked development progress using Microsoft Project.

Collaborated with engineering teams to construct scaled physical and electronic prototypes of developments for wind tunnel and computer-generated testing. Supported prototype build efforts to enable testing and evaluation.

Enrolled in professional education covering the principles of land acquisitions, real estate law, and expropriation law (2022–present).

Earned a Bachelor of Environmental Studies with Honors Planning (Co-op Program) at the University of Waterloo from 2010 to 2015.