REAL ESTATE PROFILE
A Q&A with Luc Quenneville
Luc Quenneville, 52, president of QMD Enterprises Inc., is a man of many talents. He launched QMD in 2006 as a construction company and in the last few years has become an important player in Montreal’s competitive real estate development industry. Quenneville is also a restaurateur (Le Sinclair — Hotel St-Sulpice), wine connoisseur, and self-taught musician. He was born in Verdun, the eldest of three children. When he was five, the family moved to Brossard on the south shore. Luc attended CEGEP Édouard-Montpetit and spent summers working on construction sites. We met at his office on Notre-Dame Street West.
How did you become an entrepreneur?
My great-grandfather, grandfather and dad all worked in construction — as employees rather than entrepreneurs. At age 19, I was in CEGEP and playing music every night; school was not a big priority. One summer, I was working in construction and decided not to return to fulltime studies. My father was not happy but reluctantly accepted my decision. He was a construction manager and hired me as a carpenter/labourer. In 10 years, I advanced to foreman, superintendent and finally project director. It was hard work, but I learned a lot; there is no job on a construction site that I have not done. At age 30, I accepted the position of vice-president at TEQ construction. Eight years later I broke the family cycle when I became an entrepreneur, starting QMD with my colleague Jean Morissette.
What was it like to start your own firm?
It was tough. We had no financial backing and had to raise money for our projects. What helped was having people who believed in us, including our steel supplier who is still a close friend. He gave us extra time to pay; today we are his biggest client. Other suppliers and subcontractors did the same — I think of them all as our partners. QMD began with just eight people and today we have 100 employees. Our first project, in 2006, was a public contract to renovate a fire station in Verdun. We had no office so we prepared the bid sitting around a table in Jean’s basement. I recall Roxane Tremblay, my girlfriend at that time and now my wife, typing the proposal on a typewriter we had borrowed from my mother.
How did your father influence the way you work?
There are many things I do because of my father. When I hire engineers I insist they work on construction sites to really understand what they are asking of the labourers. I think of QMD as a family business — my wife, sister, brother and father all work here, and my kids are starting to as well. My dad is now 74 and comes in three days a week. He visits our sites and produces detailed handwritten notes with his observations, full of bold caps, exclamation points and items underlined in red. His reports are like gold.
Tell me about your current projects.
A few years ago, we began acquiring land for projects we had in mind. One of them is Lum, in Brossard, on the waterfront. It will consist of three 15-storey buildings and six townhouses. The first tower will be completed in April with 114 rental units. The second and third will be condos (63 and 59 units) with delivery dates in October 2019 and March 2020. We are also very excited about Solstice, on rue de la Montagne. It is our biggest to date with an investment of $160 million. Solstice will comprise 330 luxury condos — mostly one and two bedrooms. There will be a few three-bedroom units and several penthouses. We will break ground in August 2019 and deliver in January 2022. Solstice is the first of five signature projects we are planning for the next five years. What do you enjoy in your spare time? Roxane and I have a blended family with four children, ages 23, 19, 16 and 13. We enjoy travelling together every summer. I also take a yearly trip, with friends, to areas that specialize in wine production. I still play bass, with a band, a couple of weekends a month. Music transports me away from thoughts about work. I also devote time to volunteer endeavours. Since 2009, I have been VP Immobilier of Centraide and organize fundraisers.
What puts the spring in your step?
I work a lot and feel fortunate because I love every aspect of what I do. My days fly by quickly. We have built an extraordinary team at QMD and organize social events for everyone a few times a year. I look to the future with great optimism. We are still a young company, just beginning to build our brand. I will never forget the challenging path it took to get here, and hope that I have earned my father’s respect and pride.