Terra Housing Celebrates 40 Years and Announces New Leadership Team to Drive Future Growth and Innovation
We are proud to announce that this year, Terra will be marking four decades of dedication to supporting affordable, sustainable communities throughout British Columbia. Since our founding in 1984, Terra has specialized in social purpose real estate, helping to harness the value of real estate assets for the benefit of communities, residents, members, and homeowners.
In celebration of this milestone, we are also excited to announce the formation of a newly expanded leadership team. This includes three new partners, Kelly Lin, Albert Huang, and Andrew Jones, who represent the next generation of Terra. Building on the 40-year legacy established by founders Jim O’Dea and Stuart Thomas, and Managing Partner Simon Davie, these new partners bring fresh perspectives and renewed energy to continue Terra’s mission of serving the social purpose real estate sector and community organizations with excellence and unparalleled experience.
“Celebrating 40 years is a significant milestone for Terra Housing,” said Simon Davie, CEO and Managing Partner. “Our work has always been driven by a deep commitment to excellence, integrity, and collaboration. We are proud of the positive and lasting benefits we’ve created for communities, not just in British Columbia, but also internationally. The addition of Kelly, Albert, and Andrew to our leadership team ensures that Terra will continue to innovate and lead in the sector.”
Over the past 40 years, Terra has successfully completed more than 15,000 units of housing, comprising 300 projects across the province. This impressive portfolio includes shelter and supportive housing units, individual and family oriented affordable housing, student union centres, daycares, health centres, assisted living units, churches, and worship spaces, demonstrating our commitment to diverse and inclusive community development. Terra has also assisted our clients with real estate portfolio reviews and development feasibility studies, along with asset management and capital renewal projects.
Prior to 2017, Terra successfully completed approximately 3,000 Indigenous housing units. One of our long-term clients is Lu’ma Native Housing Society (LNHS), an Indigenous-owned and operated organization with extensive experience in developing and operating affordable housing and providing support services for Indigenous people. In 2017, LNHS partnered with Terra to create Lu’ma Development Management (LDM), an Indigenous-owned and staffed development management firm. Terra continues to share backend project accounting, bookkeeping, and funder claims, as well as development management expertise and capacity building with LDM.
Our expertise in affordable housing and community project development is recognized globally. Terra has consulted for NGOs, governments, and housing developers in B.C., Canada as well as in countries such as India, the Philippines, South Africa, and Abu Dhabi. Our partners regularly contribute their knowledge to housing funding policy, research, conference sessions, and complex land and project development involving public land.
We specialize in complex development projects with multiple funders and mixed uses, ensuring that each project meets the diverse needs of the community it serves. Some of our notable projects include:
- C-Side, Vancouver – Affordable Housing Societies
- 284-unit mixed market and subsidized family units housing project in Coal Harbour
- Fraserview Housing Co-op and BRice, Vancouver – Community Land Trust
- 358 units on three City-owned sites
- Evergreen Timbers, Langley – Langley Lions Housing Society
- 58-unit Assisted Living project and master plan redevelopment
- Salal Apartments, North Vancouver – Sanford Housing Society
- 90 units of mixed income affordable housing
- Women and Families Centre, Vancouver – Union Gospel Mission
- 63 housing units and support services to women, and women with children
As Terra looks to the future, we remain committed to our vision of an inclusive society where communities are diverse and flourishing. Our mission continues to focus on supporting social purpose organizations to harness the value of real estate assets, creating positive and lasting benefits for communities.