Hanna, who also is an accountant, is a veteran of the Toronto real estate market and is the treasurer of the local board of directors of the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors. Hanna is pursuing several projects including: the purchase of land for an industrial spec building; redevelopment of brownfield sites; Downtown high-rise condos -- Toronto is one of the largest high-rise condo markets in North America; and master-planned suburban business parks.

Opus officials say the Toronto area is the third largest industrial distribution center in North America, with more than 700 million sf of space. The city has the fifth largest population center on the continent, with 5.3 million people and annual population growth of about 100,000. It accounts for about one-third of all commercial construction in Canada.

"This market has good fundamentals, including low vacancy and good absorption," says Opus president Mark Rauenhorst. He hopes the new office will "get a couple of deals off the ground in the next year, most likely in the industrial distribution market."