700 UNITS AND COUNTING: HELPING SOLVE ONTARIO’S HOUSING CRISIS ONE CONVERSION AT A TIME
Rojas Empire of Design Inc. is an architectural design and drafting firm based in Mississauga, Ontario, specializing in multi-unit property conversions. Over the past eight years, founder and owner Henry Rojas and his expert team have completed over 700 unit conversions across the province, ranging from duplexes to high-rise apartment buildings of 100 units or more, and they have over 140 more units in the pipeline. Henry credits that quick and sustained success to the company’s transparency, responsiveness, and their deep well of knowledge – all of which starts at the top, with him as the leader. Henry has personally been working in the building industry almost all his life, as he says almost his “entire family” is in construction and he’s been working with them since he was a child. Growing up, he gravitated to the design and architecture side of the industry. He started his career specializing in custom homes and extensive home additions while working on apartment buildings with investors as a side hustle, but his focus shifted as he realized he could make more of an impact working at scale. “There’s only so much you can accomplish with just one home,” Henry says. “I wanted to provide solutions for more than just one person or one family at a time. I saw there was a need out there for more housing, I identified some opportunities to meet that need, so I slowly made the transition.” That transition mostly occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, when housing prices fell and investors were looking for ways to maximize their lot potential for the highest and best use. The economics of the moment created a compelling case. Property was more affordable than it had been in years, and savvy investors quickly realized ROJAS
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that buying a single-family home at a depressed price was only the beginning of the opportunity. Converting that property into a duplex, triplex, or fourplex meant they could recover their investment while also putting more rental units into an already supply-starved market – and Henry and his team were perfectly positioned to help them. The passage of Bill 23 in January 2023 accelerated things further. The provincial legislation allowed up to three units on every property within urban boundaries as of right, cutting through much of the red tape that had previously slowed conversion projects. “Suddenly we could add more units without cutting through so much red tape,” Henry recalls. “Our investors started saying, ‘Let’s do this – let’s start building.’” From there, Rojas Empire of Design’s projects grew steadily in size, from three- and four-unit conversions to projects of five, 10, 15, 20 units and beyond. Scaling up wasn’t difficult, Henry explains, because their formula remained largely the same regardless of scale. “Once you get to about five units, it’s sort of the same recipe – it’s just a bigger shell of a building.” Today, Rojas Empire of Design works across the full spectrum of multi-unit residential, from modest basement suite additions all the way up to large-scale building conversions. Henry remains highly active in the field, traveling across Ontario – from Windsor to Ottawa – serving one of the broadest service territories of any architectural ROJAS
design firm specializing in multi-unit conversions in the province. He travels not only solely to seek out new business, but to connect with investors and stay current on what different markets are experiencing. He says that personal engagement is what’s powered the company’s growth and generated most of their leads. “Most of our clients these days come from referrals. We’ve been intentional about growth – prioritizing the quality of our client relationships over volume marketing.” Henry’s approach to building client relationships involves making himself personally accessible. Investors often come to him with questions months before they’re ready to commit to a project, and Henry makes a point of meeting with them – virtually or in person – and sharing his expertise freely. “There are times where new clients come to us with questions over two or three months, and we don’t charge anything,” he explains. “We like to help them out and get as much information as possible to them. These are multimillion-dollar projects and they want to make sure they have the right answers before moving forward.” That time investment up-front pays dividends. Even prospective clients who ultimately don’t retain the firm come away with a positive impression, and many of them refer friends or colleagues who do. It’s a long-game approach that reflects Henry’s broader philosophy: help people first, and the business follows. THE CONSTRUCTION SOURCE CANADA
Once a client does come on board, two qualities define the working relationship: transparency and responsiveness. On the transparency side, Henry makes a point of keeping clients fully informed at every stage. “Every single time someone retains us, they will always be CC’d on every email – to the engineers, the city officials, the inspectors, anyone involved,” he explains. “They’re trusting us with their project, so they should be aware of everything that’s going on.” When it comes to responsiveness, meanwhile, Henry makes himself available well beyond conventional business hours. He says that clients have his direct number and they usually don’t hesitate to use it. “They’ll call me at seven or eight in the evening with a question or a concern or an idea, and I respond personally. Sometimes it’s a five-minute call, sometimes it ends up being an hour. But we are there to support them whatever questions they have, because in real estate investment, the sooner we can get them an answer, the sooner they can close a deal or move on to the next opportunity.” Underpinning all of that client service is technical excellence – the ability to deliver permit-ready plans that actually get built. According to Henry, that ability is a big part of what sets Rojas Empire of Design apart. “Anybody can do the drawings,” he says. “The drawings are one part of the whole business. What makes us different is the communication we have with the municipalities, the city officials, the inspectors, the contractors, the engineers. It’s that key communication that ensures the project is aligned properly.” Everything gets documented in writing, and Henry prefers direct phone calls and in-person conversations over email chains when clarity matters. Getting everyone on the same page, he says, is what prevents the kind of costly miscommunications that can derail a project. That emphasis on communication extends to the relationships that Rojas Empire of Design forms with contractors. Henry acknowledges those relationships can be challenging, but he says the key is identifying the right contractors – the ones with the “right mindset.” “Some contractors understand the real estate investment mindset, and some don’t,” he explains. “A custom home builder who wants to get into the multiplex world sometimes has a hard time making that transition – they’re used to giving 200 per cent to make everything perfect. In real estate investing, the mindset is different. It doesn’t have to be 200 per cent perfect; it has to be great enough to be rentable.” Geography adds another layer of complexity, Henry adds. “Whatever works in Toronto may not work in Hamilton or St. Catharines. These are three different cities with their own interpretations of the building code. So the solution might have to be different.” “The contacts we have now understand all of this. They know how to build multiplexes, they have an investor mindset, and they have the flexibility to change their strategy to fit the city that we’re working in.” ROJAS
THE CONSTRUCTION SOURCE CANADA Overcoming challenges As previously mentioned, Rojas Empire of Design has a long list of projects in the pipeline, including many already in the construction stage. On that list, one project stands out for its ambition and complexity – a church conversion in Bradford, Ontario, where Henry and his team are transforming a century-old house of worship into a 29-unit residential building with 81 bedrooms. That project came to the firm about two years ago, and Henry’s team presented the investors with a detailed roadmap – navigating zoning bylaws, building code requirements, and the heritage considerations that come with a building of that age and character. The exterior of the church is being preserved as closely as possible, in keeping with heritage requirements. One creative challenge
ROJAS involves the stained glass windows – the building code requires clear glass for residential occupancy, so the original stained glass must be removed. Rather than discard it, the design calls for incorporating the windows into the building’s interior hallways as art – preserving the heritage character of the building in a new form. According to Henry, that project represented a significant challenge – but that’s why he enjoyed it so much. “I love doing these more complex buildings because they really test our creativity,” he says. “With a custom home, you have a blank piece of land and you can design whatever you want. With a conversion, you’re married to the shell, and you have to come up with solutions to fit it – solutions that meet the building code, the engineering requirements, and the zoning. It challenges me, and I enjoy it every day.” The Bradford church conversion is one of several challenging projects currently underway, including a project in Guelph where they are converting a 15-unit building to a 31-unit building. They are also doing a brand new 10-plex development in Barrie. In Tillbury, they are turning an existing 10-plex into a 20-plex within the same building envelope – the kind of work Henry describes as a personal favourite. “We’re reusing the same downtown building and just making it better inside,” he says. “More units, more housing, and it makes sense for the investor’s budget.”
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ROJAS Moving forward, Henry sees Rojas Empire of Design continuing to pursue larger, more complex adaptive reuse projects. He’s particularly excited to one day do a school conversion, because that would necessitate a lot of creativity. The firm has already taken on large empty shells in Hamilton – three- and four-story buildings converted into eight to 10 units – and Henry wants to push that further, toward projects of 20 and 30 units within existing structures. Achieving that kind of growth, however, doesn’t necessarily mean adding many more people to the team. Henry believes the company has the potential to instead grow by refining their systems and processes and becoming more efficient. “I see it less as adding more staff and more as building better systems,” he says. “If you have the right systems, you can operate a multi-million dollar company with a team of five to ten people. It’s not about overloading yourself with 25 people if you don’t have the proper processes in place. So we’re making sure our systems are good to go, and then we’ll have the capacity to get bigger.” Ultimately, Henry says, the company’s most important goal is not to become as big as possible, but to create as many houses as possible – because the province of Ontario needs houses, and it needs them quickly. Henry and his team want to be a part of that solution.
THE CONSTRUCTION SOURCE CANADA For more on Rojas Empire of Design, their services and capabilities, their process, and their past projects – and to get in touch with Henry and his expert team today – visit www.rojasempire.ca/
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