The Future of Social Purpose Real Estate: What’s Next?

What could the future of cultural space look like? This forward-thinking panel invites participants to explore new possibilities for how creative spaces are owned, stewarded, developed, and shared. The conversation will challenge conventional approaches to cultural infrastructure while considering how equity, collaboration, and community needs can shape more responsive models.

Led by Kendra Fry, Denise Boulduc, Matti Siemiatycki, and Tonya Surman will cover emerging approaches to ownership and stewardship, the role of cross-sector partnerships, and opportunities to rethink how cultural spaces are created and sustained. Together, they will consider what it takes to move beyond traditional models and imagine infrastructure that is more equitable, adaptable, and community-focused.

Participants will leave with new perspectives and bold ideas for shaping the future of creative spaces, along with a deeper understanding of the collective actions and partnerships needed to build the next generation of cultural infrastructure.

About the Presenters

Kendra Fry – Facilitator

Kendra Fry has a long career in the arts mostly as a General Manager in theatre before beginning her work creating multi sectoral community hubs for the common good. Working with partners from across Canada Kendra unlocks the hidden value in historic building sites, creating broad cross-sectoral community centres that involve the arts, housing, food security, education and many other not for profit organizations. Some of her better- known sites include Carlton University at Dominion Chalmers, Metropolitan United in London Ontario and Trinity St. Paul’s Centre in Toronto.

In addition to her efforts in the arts and heritage repurposing, Kendra works with municipalities on affordable housing and transformational approaches to new density. Kendra is the Transformation Lead for the Centre for Cities (University of Windsor) and Lakeshore, ON, working on affordable housing, placemaking and infrastructure transformation for this newly dense region.

Matti Siemiatycki – Panellist

Matti Siemiatycki is a Professor in the Department of Geography & Planning, and Director of the Infrastructure Institute at the University of Toronto. His work focuses on delivering large-scale infrastructure projects, evidence based infrastructure investment decisions, and the effective integration of infrastructure into the fabric of cities. His recent studies explore transit policy decisions, the value for money of public-private partnerships, and the development of innovative mixed-use buildings as a form of place based infrastructure policy. He is a highly engaged public scholar with a deep commitment to informing public discourse about city building. He regularly provides advice to governments, civic institutions and industry, and is a frequent commentator in the media and public realm on urban issues. He is the host of the Good for Cities podcast.

Tonya Surman – Panellist

Tonya Surman is the co-founder and CEO of the Centre for Social Innovation (CSI) and a Canadian social entrepreneur whose work focuses on building the physical, financial and relational infrastructure that enables people to work together for social and environmental change.

For more than two decades, Tonya has helped pioneer social purpose real estate in Canada, leading the acquisition, financing, development, operation and sale of significant urban properties. This work led to the creation of the Community Bond, an innovative social finance tool that enables people and institutions to invest directly in projects that create community benefit and has since been replicated across Canada.

Today, her work sits at the intersection of social purpose real estate, community wealth and collaborative infrastructure, exploring how land, buildings, capital and community can be stewarded toward a more just, regenerative and beautiful future.

We acknowledge the financial support of the Department of Canadian Heritage.