Markee’s story

Before Jennifer and Jason met, they had each been researching, building, and testing new models for the delivery of housing. 

They came at the question from different perspectives — Jennifer, an urban planner by training and former Chief Planner of the City of Toronto, had spent decades in both the public and private sector driving positive change in urban planning; Jason, an engineer by training and former CEO of Shiplake Properties, and Head of Credit at TD Bank, had spent decades financing, building, and managing housing developments.

Their complementary skills and ambition led to the creation of Markee.

A prolonged and sustained housing affordability crisis

Cities are the driving force behind 21st-century economies, but a lack of access to housing threatens to upend this dynamic. As rising housing prices have continued to far exceed wage growth, too many cities across Canada have become too expensive for working people. For nearly a generation now, as overall wealth has grown, so has social and economic inequality. Providing access to housing that is stable, affordable, and part of complete, walkable communities, does not solve every barrier to the creation of a world where everyone can flourish — but it is a critical starting point

We know that a growing number of employed people are living in precarious housing. Young people are burdened with fear about where they will raise their families, and whether they can stay in the cities they love. Some older adults are overhoused, with all of the burdens that entails, or pushed into facilities prematurely because there are limited options. New Canadians, Indigenous people, racialized populations, and lower-income workers continue to disproportionately suffer from the effects of homelessness and gentrification.

Traditional models for housing development that glorify homeownership and treat housing like a financial tool, rather than a home, leave out too many people.

Jennifer and Jason created Markee to bring the full weight of our private and public sector expertise and resources to bear on applying a new approach against this broken model. We design, finance, build, and manage housing that is beautiful, affordable, livable, and sustainable.