Having immigrated from Ukraine as a young teenager, Maxim Olshevsky understands that affordable housing doesn’t come easy. And, as the president and CEO of Astra Group and managing director of Peoplefirst Developments, he’s working to address that issue in downtown Calgary.
Olshevsky and his companies reimagine vacant spaces through office-to-residential conversions. With successful projects like The Cornerstone and Petro Fina, Olshevsky’s goals are twofold — he revitalizes downtown by transforming underused buildings into affordable housing and, by doing so, he demonstrates how providing attainable homes and prioritizing people are necessary components of a vibrant city.
What makes you passionate about revitalizing downtown?
Being centred in Downtown West End, where all of our projects are, it’s close to my heart because I grew up here. We’re trying to improve the area that gave me the opportunity to be where I am today.
Why have you made affordable housing a central part of your business?
Helping small businesses and giving opportunities to new immigrants created a holistic approach where we saw that through a single project of ours, we … create an impact. You can either blindly put up a tower, or you can align it in such a way that you’re helping individuals.
Why do you prioritize helping people in your development projects?
When you live in apartments and go through the challenges of being a newcomer to Canada, you really see how people live. The whole idea behind Peoplefirst was to create the biggest value for individuals and, at the same time, [look at] how your venture really supports individuals and gives them the opportunity to progress. We take the projects where we can provide the most value and introduce [that value] to the individuals that need it most.
In terms of housing and density in Calgary, what’s missing from the discussion?
Everybody is focused on bringing a wide range of diverse people to downtown Calgary, but the one thing that is escaping conversations is the retail. How do we improve small retail businesses so that these individuals here have various services?
What do you love most about Calgary?
The fact that you have the opportunity to do and achieve whatever you want and feel safe while doing it makes it an amazing place.