How to build a friendly building

When developer Hesam Deihimi was thinking about what he wanted for a big development in the Vancouver suburb of Port Moody – almost 200 apartments in that city’s old downtown, incorporating a heritage building – he knew he wanted to help create a community, not just a bunch of boxes.

“I think people are longing for a sense of belonging,” says the Iran-born Mr. Deihimi, who has been interested in the topic of belonging himself since he was a child trying to figure out how he fit into Canada. There’s a reason his company is named Placemaker Communities.