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November 27th, 2023
Original:
Translation:
Who is Alice Wu, one of the former owners of the extensive Northvolt land?
Nothing fated her to become one of the most powerful women in real estate in Quebec.
Alice Minying Wu at the moment of receiving the 2022 Outstanding Chinese Entrepreneur Award from the Canadian Chinese Entrepreneur Council. PHOTO FROM LINKEDIN, WU MINYING.
Relatively unknown, businesswoman Alice Minying Wu made headlines earlier this month when it was revealed that she was a co-owner of the extensive land sold to Northvolt for the record sum of $240 million. But this wasn't her first bold move.
In March 2022, the company she founded in 2006, Groupe Boda (formerly Broad), sold a 355,000-square-foot plot of land in Brossard for nearly $55 million. Boda had acquired it for less than $3.7 million just nine years earlier. The annualized return, excluding fees, was 35%.
“For eight years, Groupe Boda worked on the pre-development of this land and successfully obtained a zoning modification to enable a high-density project. The nearby construction of the REM [light rail] also made this land extremely attractive,” explains Marie Sara Hamel, Vice President at Boda.
LinkedIn page of Boda Group
Teacher by profession
Nothing predestined Mrs. Wu, now 55 years old, to become one of the most powerful women in the real estate sector on the South Shore of Montreal.
I came to Quebec for love, and in return, all Quebecers have given me a lot of love and support. I have become one of them," she declares in a telephone interview with Le Journal, during which she alternated between French and English.
Born in China, Alice Wu immigrated to Montreal in 1991 to join her future husband, Danny Huang, who had been living here since 1986 and was studying at Concordia University.
Mrs. Wu earned a master's degree in educational management from McGill University. During her studies, she gave birth to her first son while working part-time at a convenience store with her husband.
She later worked as a secretary in an immigration law firm before launching her consulting firm in the field.
It was her husband, who was then a real estate broker, who led her to take an interest in the field and eventually establish Groupe Boda.
A friend of Guy St-Jacques
Guy St-Jacques, former Ambassador of Canada to China, met Danny Huang in Beijing and became friends with the couple upon his return to Quebec.
Mr. St-Jacques notes that Mr. Huang is the president of the Jiu Ding Foundation, which provides scholarships to Canadian students of Chinese origin.
The vice-president of the organization is Yuhong (Henry) Liu, who has been vice-president at Power Corporation since 2011.
Alice Wu with her husband, Danny Huang, and their son, Frank. PHOTO FROM FRANK HUANG'S LINKEDIN PAGE
Sino-Quebec investors.
For most of its projects, Boda can rely on the support of Chinese-origin investors.
"I have Chinese partners, but they are Quebecers; they live in the Montreal area," specifies Alice Wu.
Over the years, Boda has acquired several million square feet of land. The group has completed the construction of five residential projects, sold three, and is currently developing six more.
Boda also owns five commercial buildings, an equestrian estate in Carignan, a golf course in Lachute, and another in Candiac that she wishes to convert into a residential project.
In the face of the Metropolitan Community of Montreal's desire to turn the latter property into a park, Boda filed a lawsuit of over $69 million against the City of Candiac, as revealed by La Presse in May.
Nevertheless, Mrs. Wu expresses delight that the extensive land she and her associates sold to Northvolt is set to host the flagship project of Quebec's battery industry.
“We are so proud to be able to play a role in the economic development of Quebec,“ she says, “We believe this will bring many great things to this region. We are very happy and look forward to seeing it all unfold."
THE LAND SOLD TO NORTHVOLT
Selling price (2023): $240 million ($13 per square foot)
Purchase price (2015): $20 million
Area: 18.5 million square feet
Sellers: a group consisting of Luc Poirier, Serge Gariépy, Alice Wu, and other investors.
GROUPE BODA
190-3755 place de Java, Brossard
Québec, J4Y 0E4
