Jim Spatz

Jim Spatz was born in Munich, Germany, to parents Simon and Riva Spatz.{{Sfnmp|Ramesar|2023|Casey|}} His parents were Holocaust survivors, and immigrated to Halifax in 1950 when he was 11 months old, arriving through Pier 21.{{Sfnmp|Ramesar|2023|NationTalk|2022}} Simon ran a grocery store business with his brother-in-law before purchasing his own store on Morris Street known as the Southend Market. He entered the real estate business when he purchased multiple houses adjacent to the market, and by the 1960s he sold his grocery store and began to focus primarily on property development, founding Southwest Properties. By 1988, the company was managing 700 to 800 apartment units under Simon's leadership.{{Sfnmp|Casey||Kimber|2014}}

Jim Spatz graduated with a Doctor of Medicine in 1974 and practiced family and emergency medicine for 13 years, including time spent as the acting chief of the emergency department at a Montreal hospital.{{Sfnmp|NationTalk|2022|Kimber|2014}} In 1987, he returned to Halifax to join Southwest Properties, eventually assuming control of the company when his father died in 2001.{{Sfnmp|Kimber|2014}}

As a property developer, Spatz has been involved with numerous notable projects in Halifax. Early developments with his father included The Terrace, a 6-storey apartment building which had just begun construction upon his arrival in Halifax in 1987, and a CAD$20 million redevelopment of the Sunnyside Mall in 1989.{{Sfnmp|Kimber|2014}} In the 1990s, Spatz led the committee which oversaw the construction of a new theatre complex for Neptune Theatre in Halifax.{{Sfnmp|Toth|1993}}

Spatz's Southwest Properties is the owner of Bishops Landing in Halifax, as well as other properties located along the Halifax waterfront.{{Sfnmp|CBC News|2015}} In 2013, Spatz partnered with Peter Carver of Minett Real Estate to begin development of a 16-storey apartment building on the waterfront, with an estimated cost of $75 million. The property is owned by the Waterfront Development Corporation, with the property developers being provided with a 99-year lease. The project was the largest in the history of the Waterfront Development Corporation at the time.{{Sfnmp|CTV News|2013}}

In 2012, Southwest Properties and the American company New Castle Hotels & Resorts purchased the Algonquin Hotel and Resort in Saint Andrews, New Brunswick from the province's provincial government. The same year, Spatz expressed interest in purchasing two additional resort properties in Nova Scotia: the Digby Pines Golf Resort and Spa in Digby, and the Liscombe Lodge Resort and Conference Centre in Liscomb.{{Sfnmp|Hotelier|2012}}

In May 2016, Spatz was appointed to the board of directors of the Halifax Port Authority by the Canadian federal government. The port authority reviewed his appointment and found that his position as CEO of Southwest Properties did not constitute a conflict of interest for his work on the board, stating he would not be involved in matters concerning real estate with the Halifax Port Authority.{{Sfnmp|Global News|2016}}

In 2018, Halifax Regional Council approved amendments to the municipality's land-use bylaws to allow for a major development by Southwest Properties of a property adjacent to Mount Saint Vincent University, once the site of the Sisters of Charity Motherhouse. Spatz said at the time that roughly four percent of the units in the new residential building at the site would be affordable housing.{{Sfnmp|Bradley|2018}}

In 2020, Southwest Properties began to seek approval for a new waterfront development between Bishop's Landing and the Discovery Centre, planning to construct a building designed by the architect Stephen Bugbee to resemble half of a cruise ship. The Halifax municipal councillor Waye Mason argued that the municipality's plan for the Halifax waterfront was "arguably the single most complex plan in HRM", and following a debate between councillors Mason put forward a motion to allow the project to move forward pending changes to Southwest Properties' development plan.{{Sfnmp|McKenna|2020}}

Southwest Properties was the primary developer behind The Pavilion, a 13-storey mixed-used condo building located in Downtown Halifax. The project was still in the design stage when Spatz hired three realtors to begin selling units in the building, with the realtors selling approximately 80% of the units within months of being hired. Every remaining unit in the building was sold by the end of 2020, with Spatz himself acquiring a residence in the building.{{Sfnmp|Macdonald|2021}} At the same time as The Pavilion, Southwest Properties also constructed Curve, a 16-storey apartment building which opened in 2020 and won a national design contest.{{Sfnmp|Macdonald|2021}}

Spatz also owns real estate in New Brunswick, as well as Florida in the United States.{{Sfnmp|CBC News|2015}}

Spatz founded the Spatz Foundation in 2008, which makes charitable contributions to organizations in the fields of arts and culture, health, entrepreneurship, and Jewish life.{{Sfnmp|NationTalk|2022}} He was appointed to the Dalhousie University board of governors in 2001, serving until 2014, during which time he funded the Jewish studies program at the university.{{Sfnmp|Jacobson|2014}}

In 2018, Spatz was included on The Vancouver Sun{{'}}s list of "most notable political donors in the East", having made a total of eight financial contributions to political parties in Nova Scotia. According to The Vancouver Sun, his political donations amounted to $6,374 to the Progressive Conservative Association of Nova Scotia, $3,780 to the Nova Scotia Liberal Party, and $2,250 to the Nova Scotia New Democratic Party.{{Sfnmp|The Vancouver Sun|2018}}

Spatz has been the recipient of various awards and distinctions. He received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2013,{{Sfnmp|NationTalk|2022}} and was the honoured guest at the 2014 Jewish National Fund (JNF) Negev Dinner, where he was commemorated for his work with the JNF through the Jim Spatz Bike Path at Independence Park in Tel Aviv, Israel.{{Sfnmp|Jacobson|2014}} In 2015, he was named CEO of the Year by Atlantic Business Magazine.{{Sfnmp|Atlantic Business Magazine|2015}} He was awarded the Humanitarian Award for Nova Scotia by the Canadian Red Cross in 2019,{{Sfnmp|CityNews|2019}} received an honorary Doctor of Laws from Dalhousie University in 2022,{{Sfnmp|NationTalk|2022|Dalhousie University|2022}} and was awarded the Order of Canada in 2023.{{Sfnmp|Ramesar|2023|Governor General of Canada|2023}} He is an inductee of the Nova Scotia Business Hall of Fame.{{Sfnmp|NationTalk|2022}}

Spatz is married to his wife, Val.{{Sfnmp|Bruce|2024}} He has two sons.{{Sfnmp|Kimber|2014}}

{{reflist}}

{{refbegin|30em}}

• {{cite news |author=(({{Text|Atlantic Business Magazine}})) |author-mask=[{{Italics correction|Atlantic Business Magazine}}] |date=29 June 2015 |title=And then... |url=https://atlanticbusinessmagazine.ca/article/and-then/ |work=Atlantic Business Magazine |location= |publisher= |access-date=20 June 2025 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250620175145/https://atlanticbusinessmagazine.ca/article/and-then/ |archive-date=20 June 2025}}
• {{cite news |last=Bradley |first=Susan |date=18 July 2018 |title=Halifax council agrees to amend land-use rules for Motherhouse development |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/southwest-properties-motherhouse-halifax-development-1.4751490 |work=CBC News |location=Nova Scotia |publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation |access-date=12 May 2025 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210730071515/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/southwest-properties-motherhouse-halifax-development-1.4751490 |archive-date=30 July 2021}}
• {{cite news |last=Bruce |first=Alec |date=28 October 2024 |title=Halifax developer Jim Spatz talks solution to housing crisis |url=https://atlanticbusinessmagazine.ca/article/halifax-developer-jim-spatz-talks-solution-to-housing-crisis/ |work=Atlantic Business Magazine |location=Halifax, NS |publisher= |access-date=20 June 2025 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250516113816/https://atlanticbusinessmagazine.ca/article/halifax-developer-jim-spatz-talks-solution-to-housing-crisis/ |archive-date=16 May 2025}}
• {{cite news |last=Casey |first=Quentin |date= |title=The 'come-from-aways' |url=https://www.saltscapes.com/roots-folks/2548-the-come-from-aways.html |work=Saltscapes |location= |publisher= |access-date=20 June 2025 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250620161607/https://www.saltscapes.com/roots-folks/2548-the-come-from-aways.html |archive-date=20 June 2025}}
• {{cite news |author={{Text|CBC News}} |author-mask=[{{Italics correction|CBC News}}] |date=12 May 2015 |title=Jim Spatz confident Halifax's population will grow |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/jim-spatz-confident-halifax-s-population-will-grow-1.3071857 |work=CBC News |location=Nova Scotia |publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation |access-date=12 May 2025 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160331130921/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/jim-spatz-confident-halifax-s-population-will-grow-1.3071857 |archive-date=31 March 2016}}
• {{cite news |author={{Text|CityNews}} |author-mask=[{{Italics correction|CityNews}}] |date=28 November 2019 |title=Businessman Jim Spatz and Dalhousie student Mark Saldanha to receive humanitarian awards |url=https://halifax.citynews.ca/2019/11/28/businessman-jim-spatz-and-dalhousie-student-mark-saldanha-to-receive-humanitarian-awards-1887518/ |work=CityNews |location=Nova Scotia |publisher=Rogers Sports & Media |access-date=20 June 2025 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250620160858/https://halifax.citynews.ca/2019/11/28/businessman-jim-spatz-and-dalhousie-student-mark-saldanha-to-receive-humanitarian-awards-1887518/ |archive-date=20 June 2025}}
• {{cite news |author={{Text|CTV News}} |author-mask=[{{Italics correction|CTV News}}] |date=29 August 2013 |title=Major development project on Halifax Waterfront gets green light |url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/atlantic/article/major-development-project-on-halifax-waterfront-gets-green-light/ |work=CTV News |location= |publisher= |access-date=20 June 2025 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250620160908/https://www.ctvnews.ca/atlantic/article/major-development-project-on-halifax-waterfront-gets-green-light/ |archive-date=20 June 2025}}
• {{cite news |author={{Text|Dalhousie University}} |author-mask=[Dalhousie University] |date=2022 |title=Josef (Jim) Spatz: Spring 2022 Honorary Degree Recipient |url=https://www.dal.ca/convocation/history_traditions/honorary_degree_recipients/hon_degree_2022/jim_spatz.html |work= |location= |publisher=Dalhousie University |access-date=20 June 2025 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250620163740/https://www.dal.ca/convocation/history_traditions/honorary_degree_recipients/hon_degree_2022/jim_spatz.html |archive-date=20 June 2025}}
• {{cite news |author={{Text|Global News}} |author-mask=[{{Italics correction|Global News}}] |date=30 December 2016 |title=Halifax Port Authority review finds Jim Spatz not in conflict of interest |url=https://globalnews.ca/news/3153150/halifax-port-authority-review-finds-jim-spatz-not-in-conflict-of-interest/ |work=Global News |location= |publisher=The Canadian Press |access-date=12 May 2025 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108091607/https://globalnews.ca/news/3153150/halifax-port-authority-review-finds-jim-spatz-not-in-conflict-of-interest/ |archive-date=8 November 2020}}
• {{cite web |author={{Text|Governor General of Canada}} |author-mask=[Governor General of Canada] |date=2023 |title=Members of the Order of Canada: Mr. Josef Meier Spatz |url=https://www.gg.ca/en/honours/recipients/146-118082 |publisher=Governor General of Canada |access-date=20 June 2025 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250620160935/https://www.gg.ca/en/honours/recipients/146-118082 |archive-date=20 June 2025}}
• {{cite news |author={{Text|Hotelier}} |author-mask=[{{Italics correction|Hotelier}}] |date=5 June 2012 |title=Two Nova Scotia Resorts Up for Sale |url=https://www.hoteliermagazine.com/two-nova-scotia-resorts-up-for-sale/ |work=Hotelier |location= |publisher=Kostuch Media |access-date=12 May 2025 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250326150509/https://www.hoteliermagazine.com/two-nova-scotia-resorts-up-for-sale/ |archive-date=26 March 2025}}
• {{cite news |last=Jacobson |first=Joel |date=3 April 2014 |title=Halifax philanthropist to be honoured by JNF |url=https://thecjn.ca/news/halifax-philanthropist-honoured-jnf/ |work=Canadian Jewish News |location= |publisher= |access-date=20 June 2025 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250620161334/https://thecjn.ca/news/halifax-philanthropist-honoured-jnf/ |archive-date=20 June 2025}}
• {{cite news |last=Kimber |first=Stephen |author-link=Stephen Kimber |date=26 February 2014 |title=Past, present and future |url=https://nslaureates.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Jim-and-Simon-Spatz-2.pdf |work=Atlantic Business Magazine |location= |publisher= |access-date=12 May 2025 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240615182424/https://nslaureates.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Jim-and-Simon-Spatz-2.pdf |archive-date=15 June 2024}}
• {{cite news |last=Macdonald |first=Andrew |date=12 April 2021 |title=Developer is putting his money where his mouth is with new Halifax condo |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-times-transcript-developer-is-puttin/172247598/ |work=Times-Transcript |location=Moncton, NB |publisher=Postmedia Network |access-date=12 May 2025 |via=Newspapers.com}}
• {{cite news |last=McKenna |first=Caora |date=1 October 2020 |title=Building shaped like half a cruise ship will come to Halifax's waterfront with few changes |url=https://www.thecoast.ca/news-opinion/building-shaped-like-half-a-cruise-ship-will-come-to-halifaxs-waterfront-with-few-changes-24906331 |work=The Coast |location=Halifax, NS |publisher= |access-date=12 May 2025 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240718111643/https://www.thecoast.ca/news-opinion/building-shaped-like-half-a-cruise-ship-will-come-to-halifaxs-waterfront-with-few-changes-24906331 |archive-date=18 July 2024}}
• {{cite news |author={{Text|NationTalk}} |author-mask=[{{Italics correction|NationTalk}}] |date=3 May 2022 |title=

Dalhousie University bestows honorary degrees to six extraordinary individuals |url=https://nationtalk.ca/story/dalhousie-university-bestows-honorary-degrees-to-six-extraordinary-individuals |work=NationTalk |location= |publisher= |access-date=12 May 2025 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220504160125/https://nationtalk.ca/story/dalhousie-university-bestows-honorary-degrees-to-six-extraordinary-individuals |archive-date=4 May 2022}}

• {{cite news |last=Ramesar |first=Vernon |date=29 December 2023 |title=Six Nova Scotians among new Order of Canada appointees |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/six-nova-scotians-order-of-canada-1.7070691 |work=CBC News |location=Nova Scotia |publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation |access-date=12 May 2025 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250603053019/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/six-nova-scotians-order-of-canada-1.7070691 |archive-date=3 June 2025}}
• {{cite news |last=Toth |first=Derrick |date=3 May 1993 |title=Neptune theatre hopes for new complex in Halifax |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-times-transcript-neptune-theatre-hop/172248531/ |work=Times-Transcript |location=Halifax, NS |publisher=The Canadian Press |access-date=12 May 2025 |via=Newspapers.com}}
• {{cite news |author={{Text|The Vancouver Sun}} |author-mask=[{{Italics correction|The Vancouver Sun}}] |date=28 March 2018 |title=Follow the (big) money: Most notable political donors in the east |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-vancouver-sun-follow-the-big-money/172248399/ |work=The Vancouver Sun |location=Vancouver, BC |publisher= |access-date=12 May 2025 |via=Newspapers.com}}

{{refend}}

• {{cite book |last=Cobden |first=Michael |author-link=Michael Cobden |date=2016 |title=Simon Spatz: from Holocaust to Halifax, a story of survival and success |location=Halifax, NS |publisher=Nimbus Publishing |isbn=1-7710-8402-2 |oclc=949823505}}

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• {{cite news |last=Dunlop |first=Malcolm |date=13 March 2001 |title=Developers to give Nova Scotia spa new lease on life |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/developers-to-give-nova-scotia-spa-new-lease-on-life/article1030447/ |url-access=subscription |work=The Globe and Mail |location=Toronto, ON |publisher=The Woodbridge Company |access-date=20 June 2025}}
• {{cite news |last=Hinman |first=Michael |date=27 October 2008 |title=Canadian developer Jim Spatz makes American debut |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/tampabay/stories/2008/10/27/story1.html |url-access=subscription |work=Tampa Bay Business Journal |location=Tampa Bay, FL |publisher=American City Business Journals |access-date=20 June 2025}}
• {{cite news |last=Jardine |first=Aloma |date=31 May 2005 |title=Halifax developer has plans for Main Street property |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-times-transcript-halifax-developer-h/172247989/ |work=Times-Transcript |location=Moncton, NB |publisher= |access-date=12 May 2025 |via=Newspapers.com}}
• {{cite news |author={{Text|The Macdonald Notebook}} |author-mask=[{{Italics correction|The Macdonald Notebook}}] |date=28 January 2024 |title=A Conversation With Jim Spatz, New Order of Canada Recipient |url=https://www.themacdonaldnotebook.ca/2024/01/28/a-conversation-with-jim-spatz-on-his-order-of-canada/ |url-access=subscription |work=The Macdonald Notebook |location=Halifax, NS |publisher= |access-date=20 June 2025}}
• {{cite news |last=Spurr |first=Bill |date=17 October 2024 |title=Southwest Properties shows off its new Halifax waterfront development |url=https://www.saltwire.com/atlantic-canada/southwest-properties-shows-off-its-new-halifax-waterfront-development-101001066 |url-access=subscription |work=PNI Atlantic News |location=Halifax, NS |publisher=Postmedia Network |access-date=20 June 2025}}
• {{cite news |last=Tutton |first=Michael |date=10 October 1996 |title=Busting the housing market |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/saint-john-times-globe-busting-the-housi/172248166/ |work=Saint John Times Globe |location= |publisher= |access-date=12 May 2025 |via=Newspapers.com}}

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• {{cite AV media |author=(({{Text|Atlantic Business Magazine}})) |author-mask=[{{Italics correction|Atlantic Business Magazine}}] |date=21 May 2015 |title=2015 Top 50 CEO Awards - CEO of the Year |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHJFCbhsDxk |format=Video |work=Atlantic Business Magazine |type= |language=en |location=Halifax, NS |publisher= |access-date=20 June 2025 |via=YouTube |ref=none}}
• {{cite AV media |last=Spatz |first=Jim |interviewer-last=Hansen-Macdonald |interviewer-first=Luke |date=27 December 2024 |title=Jim Spatz: Escaping the Holocaust, Family & Real Estate |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDL-fedJClk |format=Video |work=Beyond the Family Business Podcast |type= |language=en |location= |publisher= |access-date=20 June 2025 |via=YouTube}}
• {{cite AV media |last1=Spatz |first1=Jim |last2=Campbell |first2=David |interviewer-last=Mills |interviewer-first=Don |date=12 October 2023 |title=A conversation with Jim Spatz on the history of his family and Southwest Properties |url=https://www.cjls.com/2023/10/12/a-conversation-with-jim-spatz-on-the-history-of-his-family-and-southwest-properties/ |format=Podcast |work=CJLS-FM |type= |language=en |location=Yarmouth, NS |publisher=Acadia Broadcasting |access-date=20 June 2025}}

• [https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6761644/ Jim Spatz] at IMDb
• [https://www.womenswallofhonour.ca/inside-page/ Riva Spatz] at Women's Wall of Honour
• [https://southwest.ca/our-story/ Our Story] at Southwest Properties

{{Halifax, Nova Scotia|state=collapsed}}

{{Portal bar|Biography|Business|Canada|Nova Scotia}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spatz, Jim}}

Category:Living people

Category:Businesspeople from Munich

Category:Businesspeople from Halifax, Nova Scotia

Category:Canadian businesspeople in real estate

Category:21st-century Canadian businesspeople

Category:Canadian Jews