Dan Van Leeuwen

With a background in real estate development spanning various asset classes, Dan brings a wealth of expertise to the Windmill team. His extensive experience in complex acquisitions, strategic planning, and joint ventures, as well as his skill in collaborating with investor and lender partners, plays a key role in driving Windmill’s growth and success in the GTA market.

Dan has extensive First Nations real estate development experience in planning, joint ventures, community-focused benefit programs, sovereignty and treat rights, legal and governmental framework, and economic reconciliation. He is passionate about sustainability and affinity-based planning, focusing on projects that build stronger, more resilient communities.

Prior to joining Windmill, Dan served as Managing Director, Development, for Taza Development Corp., based in Calgary, Alberta. Taza is the largest development on First Nation’s land in Canada in a ground-breaking joint venture structure between the Tsuut’ina First Nation and Canderel.

Dan spent ten years as Vice President, West Coast Development, with Forest City, a multi-billion dollar publicly traded real estate company, based in Los Angeles, leading large scale mixed-use projects in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Denver, and San Jose. He founded InHouse Attainable Housing Society, a non-profit organization that focused on affordable homeownership through a unique shared equity program. He has also served as President of Torode Commercial and Vice President of Apex Multifamily, participating in urban redevelopment projects across Calgary.

Dan has dedicated time to teaching other real estate professionals through his involvement with the Lusk School of Real Estate, University of Calgary and Simon Fraser University. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography and Urban Planning from the University of Waterloo.