REAL ESTATE PROFILE
A Q&A with Sam Scalia
When Sam Scalia, president of Groupe Cartierville, was born in 1966, his family lived in the borough of St-Léonard. His parents had immigrated from Italy in 1952, and the family moved to Cartierville when Sam was six years old.
His father, Francesco Scalia, was intrigued by construction. In 1954, at age 22, Francesco started taking on landscaping and small building jobs. His business grew to include rental properties. When Sam was small, he began accompanying his dad to construction sites and to meetings with suppliers and bankers.
I met with Sam Scalia at his office on René-Lévesque Blvd. E.
Did you always want to be a builder?
Spending time at my father’s workplace, from a young age, made this industry feel very comfortable.
After completing the Civil Engineering Technology program at Dawson College, I started working for my dad. He handed me a shovel and taught me the right way things needed to be done.
Eventually, I earned the position of site manager. I made mistakes, but my dad did not get angry — he just wanted me to learn from them.
When did you start out on your own?
In 1988, I launched Cartierville. My father was proud to see me spread my wings.
My first projects were singlefamily homes in Pierrefonds, ÎlePerrot and Dollard-des- Ormeaux. I was the general contractor, handled sales and customer service. It was challenging and also a lot of fun. Most of my clients were first-time buyers, including many newlyweds.
What was your first project in Montreal?
By the mid-1990s, the condo market was opening up. I bought a bungalow on Marquette St. in Villeray, demolished it, and created a fourunit condo building — a basement and three floors, with one dwelling on each level.
My next project consisted of 18 condos near the Lachine Canal. Then I completed a few 30- and 40-unit developments in Côte-desNeiges and Griffintown.
What came next?
In 2009, we completed Le Santini in Little Italy, which is a mixeduse building — three commercial spaces and 21 condo units. After that we took on Le Sofia, on RenéLévesque, where Groupe Cartierville is located.
This building began as a 6,000-square-foot piece of land. It was tough, as we had to dig down 36 feet to create three levels of underground parking. It consists of offices on the ground floor and 41 condos.
Half of the structure is six storeys and the balance is 10 floors, with a penthouse.
In 2014, I purchased a three-storey heritage building on Fort St., constructed in 1920. In compliance with the rules for this type of structure, we left the façade intact and rebuilt 3½ storeys, slightly recessed.
It’s called Le Shaughnessy and comprises 14 condo units.
What are you working on now?
One of our projects is Le 3353 Masson condos in Rosemont, with its interior courtyard full of greenery. Every unit has street and courtyard exposures.
For our most recent one I returned to my roots, creating single-family homes. Faubourg Pointe-aux-Prairies is a development of 24 semi-detached houses in Rivière-des-Prairies. We broke ground in 2015 and delivered a number of dwellings the same year. Additional families moved in this year and the balance will be delivered in 2017.
What are your passions outside of work?
I have been married to my amazing wife, Annamaria Testani, for 15 years. She is an executive in the financial sector. We have three fantastic kids — our son, FrancisAlexander, 13, and daughters Sofia, 12, and Olivia, 10.
Annamaria and I take two weeks off work during March break and another two in the summer, for family vacations.
Skiing is a favourite winter activity.
We also love beach holidays in Mexico, where we enjoy playing in the ocean and chartering boats for deep-sea fishing.
What puts the spring in your step?
I love to build. When I see an empty lot, I immediately envision what it could be. It’s a thrill to watch a project progress from a patch of dirt into beautiful homes for families.
I sometimes drive by my properties with the kids, so they can get a feel for what their dad does when he leaves home each morning. We also visit properties my late dad built. Perhaps someday my grandchildren and great-grandchildren will do the same.
What’s next for Groupe Cartierville?
When I bought the land where Groupe Cartierville is now located, I fenced it off and showed it to my children. A few weeks later, we drove by again and Sofia said: “Daddy, I can’t believe you already started working on this building and didn’t even tell me.”
It seemed this one was special to her so I named it Le Sofia, for her. Of course now my other two are a bit jealous; I imagine there will be projects called Francis-Alexander and Olivia sometime in the nottoo-distant future.
I love to build. When I see an empty lot I immediately envision what it could be. It’s a thrill to watch a project progress from a patch of dirt into beautiful homes for families.