Innovation

Ariana Developments focuses on construction projects around the Halifax Regional Municipality in hopes to continue building and expanding more in its innovative projects. The construction industry has become one of the highest competitive fields in Halifax and many companies aim to be the best. However, Ariana’s first two development projects in 2008 allowed them to grow in becoming one of the most innovative construction companies in the city (Ariana Developments, 2013). From building only townhouses and bungalow houses for sale, Ariana started to shift their business strategy in developing new and improved innovations in their projects with a few tweaks that helped Ariana flourish in a more sustainable context. It was through seeing the rise in immigrants in Halifax that they decided to shift their perspectives to help aid those in need. They now build garden home condominiums, multi-use residential units solely for rent, along with their townhouses as well. Not only is their focus on building residential units to help newcomers settle, but they profoundly focus on providing affordable housing that is approved by the CMHC. 10% of their renting prices are lower than the fair market price which has allowed Ariana to rent out much faster than its competitors. Additionally, the company strives to always provide the best quality for their community, through the continuous innovative features they provide in their housing structures in regard to reducing the unfriendly impacts on society and the environment.

Mohammadyar Bagheri, the owner of Ariana Developments, built Ariana along with the help of his cousin in hopes to build a family legacy. When asked about their chosen slogan, “We think ‘Green’, build ‘Green’, and save you ‘Green’!”, Bagheri said that it is highly focused on creating a “sustainable future for the environment and thrives on the concept of not just helping the community through lower rent prices, but also through lowering their living costs,” which is achieved by the energy-efficient features they offer.

Their shift in changing their business strategy does not only lie in providing affordable and sustainable housing, but it also holds a unique sense of mission. Ariana further believes in starting a trend in the community. “Sometimes all it takes is one person to do something innovative, and the majority will follow,” Bagheri says. He believes that given the rise in the number of builders in Halifax, that if one person takes initiative for utilizing resources or strategies with the mindset of a sustainable future, the rest will follow the lead once they foresee the benefits. Overall, Ariana has continued to innovate towards sustainability through the flexible settlement needs, its efforts in using resource-efficient materials, and through their active support in protecting the environment in hopes to influence individuals in doing so as well.

References: Ariana Developments. (2013). An Investment with Many Happy Returns. Retrieved from: http://arianadev.com/ariana/

Inspiration

Mr. Bagheri began this business along with his cousin in eager anticipation of building a family legacy that intends to give back to the community. Taking it back to his roots in Iran, where he was born and raised in a city that was prone to earthquakes, his inspiration came from seeing the destruction of homes, schools and stores. When he immigrated to Canada, he made it a mission to be able to provide affordable housing to those in need back in Iran. However, due to economic circumstances in Iran, it was hard to provide construction projects as interest rates were too high. He then took that motivation elsewhere and used it here in Canada to provide for those that are in need while still making generous contributions to organizations in Iran. Generally, it was his experiences in Iran that helped him envision this business idea and sparked his motivation of continuous efforts in building and innovating ‘green’ in Canada. This is what allowed for his initial goal and purpose that originated in his homeland, to not be abandoned.

Overall impact

As for their overall impact, it is safe to say that Ariana Development impacts a large number of people in the Halifax area due to their positive contributions regarding environmental impacts and their numerous business benefits. Their impact on the environment has been extremely positive this far. With their slogan of ‘We think Green, build Green, and save you Green!’ there is no question that the environment is one of the businesses' top concerns and priorities. Throughout their everyday practices, Ariana discovers ways to remain as ‘green’ as possible. Even small things such as attempting to use smaller portions of water, heat and electricity while focusing on utilizing other ‘green’ strategies such as the use of natural light. Another important aspect to consider is Ariana’s business benefits. By prioritizing and ensuring the health and safety of clients, especially during such an uncertain time of COVID-19, along with the implementation of CMHC’s affordable housing plan has allowed Ariana to offer safe and healthy living to those that are in need. As a result, Ariana Development can provide extremely positive business benefits which will continue to support the surrounding community. Additionally, they have been able to provide a strong environmental benefit through the proper use and efficiency of resources.

Business benefit

The implementation of CMHC’s affordable housing plan has significantly helped Mr. Bagheri to ensure his rental properties are always occupied/rented despite the surge in a global pandemic bringing forth financial uncertainties for families across Canada. The affordable housing plan has long helped Mr. Bagheri to rent his properties out as soon as they become available in the market given that his price ceiling is set at 10% below the fair market price. In the past two to three years Halifax, NS has seen an abnormal growth in its real estate market. Although many perceive this as an opportunity to increase rent, given the low supply of rental properties and excess in demand Mr. Bagheri operated inversely to the norm. Most, if not all builders tend to take out a mortgage when starting such projects, Mr. Bagheri was no different. However, although many believe that a rent increase will ensure they have a much higher cash flow, Mr. Bagheri has a different ideology. His ideology is that a rent increase will ensure tenants do not seek a long-term settlement in the property, instead of with the slightest economic eruption they will look for alternative options. In effect, the landlord will have an empty unit for at least 1-2 months for cleaning, appliance inspection, and painting before finding a new tenant; that is 2 months of mortgage payments and unnecessary costs being paid without positive cash flow. Thus, Mr. Bagheri’s approach is to ensure that tenants seek long-term settlements to avoid such hefty incurred costs. Needless to say, this belief which Mr. Bagheri has been implementing for years seems to have paid off when all of his properties were still rented out during the COVID-19 outbreak all while many were struggling to pay their mortgage due to empty properties.

Furthermore, Ariana has brought forth an innovative approach of designing their units with a storage water reservoir that filters the clean water from the dishwasher, washing machine and kitchen/bathroom sinks which are utilized as the main supply of water for the toilet. Thus, given that in Halifax, NS the landlord is solely responsible for paying the utility bills, this approach could significantly lower the cost of water bills which Ariana would pay for the hundreds of rental properties they own. Ultimately, not only is this approach intended to strive for a more sustainable future, it is ensuring that Ariana has a higher profit margin by lowering their operating and external costs even if it means a higher startup cost, such as inclusion and installation of storage water reservoir.

Social and environmental benefit

Ariana Home development has focused on providing sustainable homes for the community and continues to make a positive environmental impact in Halifax. With their slogan “We think Green, build Green, and save you Green!” they utilize the highest quality of material through the insulation to help cool and heat their homes while preventing the escape of air to help homeowners save money. Furthermore, Ariana makes efforts to reduce water consumption through filtration of water between house appliances as well as incentives of reducing the use of electricity by building larger windows to allow more natural light in the property.

As a result, their innovations and goals help provide a strong environmental benefit through the efficient use of resources in reducing electricity usage, water consumption, and temperature control that will help provide sustainable infrastructure for the community.

Interview

Mohammadyar Bagheri, President and Co-Founder