CMS Real Estate Ltd. celebrates 40-year milestone
Written by Angela Lovell
Published by Melissa Mitchell
Photos by Ramsey Kunkel Photography
CMS Real Estate has been a pillar of the Calgary real estate industry for 40 years. As Gerry and Maureen Macdonald celebrate the 40th anniversary milestone, they look back and credit much of their longevity and success to the fact that the client always comes first: “Our philosophy is to provide the best service and guidance to our customers,” Maureen says. They put an emphasis on communication and customer service, building strong relationships, many of which have lasted over four decades.
PERSONALIZED SERVICES
CMS offers a full range of services including commercial and industrial real estate sales and leasing, complete property development, commercial property management, condominium management and mortgage brokerage services.
The CMS team understands that each business is unique and specializes in providing a flexible, personalized service that is customized to each client’s situation and requirements. CMS doesn’t offer cookie cutter services. The first thing CMS does is determine the client’s goals and objectives, whether it’s development, management, mortgages, sales or leasing. Once they have that, they’re able to tailor the program to meet their client’s specific needs.
Being a family business, CMS brings strong family values to each transaction. The values that CMS enshrine are about earning trust and respect from each of their clients and the industry. “We are transparent and open with every transaction, and always have the client’s best interest in mind,” adds Gerry. “We have declined projects where other people involved were not aligned with our values because we honestly believe in building long term relationships.”
THE TEAM
For many years, Gerry and Maureen have had strong team members by their side. John Hamilton, a friend and industrial realtor, has been with CMS for 36 years. Gerry Garvey, a friend and successful mortgage agent, has been part of the team for 21 years. As the business has grown, the team at CMS now includes Gerry and Maureen’s son and daughter, Gerry Jr. and Jessica. Gerry Jr. has been a licensed real estate agent and mortgage broker since 2011, while Jessica became a licensed realtor in 2015. They most recently welcomed industrial realtor Jason Isfeld in 2018. Since 2014, Jolene Andrews has worked closely with Maureen and the company’s highly valued subtrades in property management. With the team’s extensive knowledge and experience, they provide many real estate services, making CMS a full-service brokerage.
Today, CMS has around 650 commercial, industrial and residential units under their management and has developed 736,900 sq. ft. of industrial and commercial projects. “We took those projects from concept to design, through permitting, construction, leasing or sales, and we still manage a number of them,” Gerry says. “Not many companies are doing that, especially a boutique business like ours.”
