25 years in the making – Exclusive story from Emblem’s founder and CEO

Growing up in Ottawa, Kash Pashootan showed entrepreneurial spirit early on. In his youth, he was running multiple paper routes, hiring his younger sister and friends to assemble and distribute the papers, and doing deals with the local cinnamon bun bakery to get their day-old buns and sell them to his neighbours the next day at a discount. Sounds basic? Yes, but Pashootan was doing these things at just 12 years old.

His neighbour, a successful banker, suggested he get into banking and investing as it allowed for never-ending analysis of businesses and what makes them succeed and fail. This aligned with Pashootan’s personality. By age 17, he was working at the bank as a teller, while strategizing about how to get into the wealth management division. He was far too young, not yet educated and had no contacts. So, he cold-called the managing partner of the wealth management division but with no results.

“I must have left 20-plus voicemails for them,” he recalls. One day, the managing director walked into the branch and Pashootan was not going to lose his opportunity. He says, “I needed to make them an offer so outsized for their benefit that they couldn’t say no.” That was offering to work for them for the entire summer without pay. The idea worked, and got him in. By the end of the summer, he had secured part-time work with the wealth management division as he headed off to university. He had created a role that had never existed before at the bank. This was about 25 years ago, when Pashootan embarked on professional investing.

TURNING VISION INTO REALITY

Nearly a decade flew by, and after gaining deep experience Pashootan was ready for the next chapter. He founded First Avenue Advisory as a division of Raymond James, where he served as senior vice-president and portfolio manager. In 2017, he spun off the company with the vision of creating “a boutique investment-management firm with an entrepreneurial spirit,” he says. Today, First Avenue Investment Counsel is a leading Canadian investment management firm that oversees more than $4 billion in assets (including the development value of the real estate holdings) for affluent Canadian families and delivers deep financial backing to Emblem Developments. Explaining his vision, Pashootan says, “I never wanted us to simply be advisors. We thought like investors, and I wanted us to be partners with our clients. To me that means, first we have demonstrated financial success in our own life, and second, we put that capital at risk and invest alongside those who have invested with us.”

First Avenue employs a pension-style approach to investing, through diversified strategies that extend beyond the conventional stock-and-bond portfolio. This includes equities, fixed income, private equity and real estate. Emblem was established from this vision and is the real estate exposure for First Avenue. As with everything he does, Pashootan went “all in” on this real estate venture, building it with precision from scratch. He reflects, “The times I’ve had success in my life, it’s been doing things at an obsessive level. That’s what it takes to be the best.”

Pashootan curated a hand-picked executive team for Emblem that comprises experts in various fields, including construction, development, finance, marketing and customer care. Collectively, they have completed more than 135 projects worldwide, with a combined value of approximately $20.2 billion.

“Our team’s focus, work ethic, and commitment are vital to our pursuit of excellence and success,” Pashootan says. For him, the strength of his team’s diversity, open-minded approach, and ability to challenge the status quo set Emblem apart. “Having a strong team with different thinking ensures we all remain receptive to new ideas and perspectives, leading to better outcomes. We spend little time on what we are doing well. Instead, we focus on what we can do better. The hunger for progress is innate.”

LOOKING AHEAD

The company has received ample market recognition for its developments, winning numerous awards over the years. Most recently, Emblem was awarded the Best Residential Highrise Development in Ontario in 2024 for The Design District from the highly respected International Property Awards. Downtown Toronto’s premier development, Allure, was named a finalist for Best Residential Highrise in Canada in 2024 by CHBA.

Emblem continues to reach new construction milestones. Earlier this year, the company registered its 1 Jarvis residences in Hamilton just four weeks after occupancy, and followed that by registering ArtForm in Mississauga in just two weeks, a feat that is almost unheard of in the industry. The Design District was the largest project to break ground in Hamilton in 2023, and the final third tower is soon to be introduced to the market. Another Mississauga project, Arte, has completed the building structure and is set to deliver in 2025. Overall, Emblem has delivered six new and completed buildings within the last 18 months. Sound results for any developer, especially one that was born within the last decade.

The firm’s current development portfolio consists of more than 4,600 residences, representing more than $3.6 billion in development value and spanning more than 4.2 million sq. ft. across Toronto, Mississauga, Hamilton and Ottawa. “We analyze markets daily, adapt quickly, support each other, and stay true to our core vision,” Pashootan explains. “Our focus will always be on creating value for our residents and partners.”

Looking ahead, Emblem is set to bring more exceptional developments to the GTA’s most prominent locations.