What You Don't Know About: Waterfront Toronto’s Meg Davis
Waterfront Toronto development VP Meg Davis is carrying out a $35B, multi-decade master plan that's transforming 2k acres of post-industrial land into a mixed-use mini-city. Expect 40k homes and 11M SF of CRE. But first it'll house the athletes’ village for next summer’s Pan Am Games.
How did you get your start: After graduating from Western University with a degree in urban development in 1986, I sent my resume to every development company I could think of. Got one interview from the 30 I sent out. Luckily it was at Bramalea Ltd. (now defunct), one of the largest residential builders in the country. I worked in their land development group doing acquisitions and servicing. While at Western, I had summer jobs with Goodmans (their municipal law group) and Cadillac Fairview. I subsequently got an MBA from University of Toronto.
What drew you to Waterfront Toronto: I was working in consulting for KPMG when I found out about the job opening. I was drawn to the scope of the position because it brought together all pieces of my past—P3s, planning, development, construction, environmental approvals. This is true city building, and I love it. I feel like I’m making something happen that matters. (Below, Corktown Common, the jewel of the redevelopment.)
What's shaped your success: Hard work. I enjoy my free time, but I also commit to working hard. Plus I try and respect my counterparts and find ways to work together to come up with an answer that satisfies everybody.
Who's influenced your career: My boss at KPMG, Steve Beatty, has been a mentor to me; a really smart guy. And my eldest brother Neil; he was always tough on me. He’s now a municipal lawyer. I came to respect him and the way he approaches his work, and his calm nature. WT CEO John Campbell is also a great mentor and ongoing influence.
The biggest challenge with your job: It’s easy to work with our development partners to build condos. The harder part is making sure all the other great things that make a complete community are there: open spaces, daycares, community services, recreational facilities, and eventually, long-term care facilities. We’re trying to bring transit to all our communities. You will not unlock the value of the port lands without higher order transit.
Hobbies/interests: I have twin teenagers, Molly and Jack, 16, so hanging with them is my favourite thing to do. We love to ski, listen to music together and watch movies. I’m a big runner. I’ve run a few marathons. And I read a ton; fiction, sometimes good, sometimes trash. And my husband's in the wine business, so we like to drink wine on weekends.
Vacation spot: Our cottage on Georgian Bay—it’s our lifeblood.
