Karen Biko spends part of her business day cruising the streets of Forest Lawn. But it’s not what you might think.

Biko is looking at houses for sale, and she’s writing down the addresses of homes that bear the tell-tale signs of an absentee landlord. These property owners will then get letters asking if the property is for sale. You can call her a dreamer, but this approach to residential real estate investment is all part of Biko’s plan to play an active role in preparing Forest Lawn to be one of this city’s hottest inner-city neighbourhoods.

And those stars in her eyes? Biko says you should recognize them for what they really are – dollar signs.

Biko’s plan to help transform Forest Lawn with investment dollars came from a television news story about Art Sheeler. A 35-year resident of Forest Lawn, Sheeler is a semi-retired trucker who chairs the Forest Lawn Community Action Group. Frustrated by what they deem to be an influx of crack houses and prostitutes, the group holds monthly meetings in Sheeler’s home. Their goal? To find innovative ways to boost local community pride in a neighbourhood Sheeler proudly describes as a “nice, blue-collar, working-class neighbourhood (full of) good, honest people.”

Mike Sturk photo, Business Edge
Karen Biko stops along 17 Avenue, the mercantile heart of Forest Lawn, where she’s investing.

This fall, the group moved beyond helping to organize community events such as parades, kids’ parties and I Love Forest Lawn buttons, and announced plans to target the absentee landlords of specific properties. The idea: Send the owners letters asking if they know the kind of activity that goes on in the house.

The idea tweaked Biko’s entrepreneurial nerve, but she saw the need to take it a step further. That’s why she talked the action group into giving her the addresses of the houses they’ve identified. In return, she’ll do the title search and, along with the action group’s letter, she’ll send her own letter with an offer to purchase the property.

“I like to fix things, I guess that’s sort of my weakness,” admits the interior designer, who spent 10 years as a space planner and facilities manager in the oil and gas industry before her foray into real estate investment over the past year. “I like to make things nice.”

But make no mistake. With 15 residential deals under her belt in her first year of business, Biko’s not in the market to lose money. Seven of the houses she and her husband Bill bought in the last year have already been renovated and re-sold. The other eight are rental properties (single-family homes and duplexes) they plan to hold as long-term investments. All of the rental properties are managed through a philosophy that preaches “quality property and quality tenants.”

Her plan to invest in Forest Lawn follows investment research data that shows this community, with its spacious lots, quick commute to downtown Calgary and close proximity to Deerfoot Trail, is on the cusp of a major residential retrofit.

And while the letters to absentee landlords just started going out in early November, spending time in the neighbourhood has already piqued Biko’s interest in nine places. If the price is right, all are houses she’d buy and hold onto as long-term investments.

Alison Karim-McSwiney agrees. The executive director of the International Avenue Business Revitalization Zone (BRZ), which runs along the eastern stretch of 17 Avenue, hadn’t heard about Biko’s work with the action group. She disagrees with the idea Forest Lawn has more than its share of social problems, but shares Biko’s optimism about the community’s future. “There’s no reason this area will not take off like other areas because it’s so close to downtown.”

Tree-planting projects, summer flowerpots, new sidewalks and expanded bus pads are tangible examples of the BRZ’s recent efforts to make International Avenue a welcome place to shop.

But more is on the way. The City of Calgary, University of Calgary and the BRZ are also working on an environmental design project to make 17 Avenue more attractive to pedestrians. That follows research showing 28 per cent of the people surveyed in Forest Lawn stores arrived there on public transit, or by foot. Ideas contained in the new report, expected this month, will build on the reality of the community’s pedestrian traffic, notes Karim-McSwiney.

Better yet, design amenities that improve the International Avenue experience are coming to fruition alongside solid investment in Forest Lawn. According to Karim-McSwiney, the community is about to get at least 600 new condominiums, many of which are right along 17 Avenue.

One of those developments, by Seven Sevens Corp., is modelled after the same company’s successful development on 17 Avenue S.W., says president Al Sajan. He expects to break ground on the mixed-use development at 17 Avenue and 54 Street S.E. in April 2005. The Forest Lawn project features a three-storey residential condominium complex with 92 units and 16,000 sq. ft. of commercial development, plus underground parking for residents.

The Bella Casa condominium development is designed to appeal to first-time buyers and empty-nesters who want to stay in the neighbourhood. Initial plans call for the commercial development to include boutique-style shops that will appeal to local residents and destination shoppers, says Sajan.

Working in a business where there’s no monopoly on a good idea, Biko anticipates other real estate investors will follow her lead.

And why not, she asks. “It’s a good place to buy.”

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(Joy Gregory can be reached at joy@businessedge.ca)