Improve Canada

It’s not surprising that the man who’s spearheading one of Canada’s biggest retail projects is in high demand, but the sound of Oleg Chekhter’s cell phone ringing for the eighth time in less than an hour solidifies it. Dressed in a pinstriped navy suit, the retail industrialist is relatively relaxed, despite the fact that he’s standing on over 300,000 sq. ft. of impending innovation. “We’re lucky that we got this place,” he says of the Vaughan structure, which sits at the nexus of Highway 407 and Keele Street. Chekhter and his two partners’ vision for Improve — the nation’s largest home improvement centre — will materialize in the summer of 2013.

What stemmed from Chekhter’s personal frustration in renovating his own properties evolved into plans for a full-service centre that will act as a beacon of light for fellow homeowners who lose time and money through improvement ventures. No longer will consumers have to Read more