WHO IS THE DEVELOPMENT TEAM?

Background & Overview, The Early Days
René H. Lépine Jr. is the eldest son of the founder of Eastern Canada’s premiere real estate development company – Groupe Lépine. René was raised in the closely-held family operation started in the early 1950’s by his father, the dynamic René G. Lépine Sr.

René Jr. began learning the business working part-time in his early teens and became fully involved in 1972. Until forming Groupe Lépine International in the early 1990's, he participated in more than 25 large-scale projects where he excelled in positions of increasing responsibility.

Real Estate is in his Blood
Since his early days with Groupe Lépine some thirty-five years ago, Mr. Lépine has been involved in all aspects of project development and management – from land acquisition and financing, through design and construction, as well as long-term management and property disposition. As a partner in his family's business since the late 70’s; he has also initiated policies that continue to keep the organization at the forefront of areas such as marketing, sales, and computer-assisted development management.

An International Perspective
As early as 1978, René H. started taking a leading role in the company’s international developments, beginning with the then reemerging South Florida market. Alternating his residency between Canada and the U.S. numerous times, he has spent nearly twenty years developing projects in the Florida Gold Coast Area.

A dozen years after first tackling the Florida market, Mr. Lépine directed the family’s international efforts further afield, taking the company to Prague, Czechoslovakia, in 1990 and to Moscow, Russia, in 1991, where he worked on several projects over five years. Groupe Lépine became one of the major foreign developers in the Moscow real estate market during the first half of the 1990's.

Featured Innovative Projects
Some of the more notable projects in which Mr. Lépine was involved when he was active with Groupe Lépine were:

The 1976 Olympic Village in Montreal
Twin 17-story pyramid towers with 980 units designed and built in only 21-months.

Le Sanctuaire du Mont-Royal
A 1.5 million square foot, 945-unit, seven-building luxury condominium project.

Le Sporting Club du Sanctuaire
A 110,000 sq. ft. luxury multi-sport facility, the second largest in North America when it opened.

The Sir Robert Peel
A 22-story, 72-unit luxury condominium in Montreal, having won multiple design & innovation awards.

Komsomolsky Tower
An 11-story’s 110,000 square foot office building, one of the first foreign projects to be developed in Moscow, Russia in the early 1990’s.



René H. Lépine
Today – Founder of Groupe Lépine International
As principal and founder of Groupe Lépine International, an development organization (that remains loosely affiliated with Groupe Lépine), René H. Lépine has been involved in development in the United States, Canada, France, the Caribbean, Czechoslovakia and Russia.

Drawing upon his extensive background and exceptional insight into the real estate development business at large, Mr. Lépine’s projects are synonymous with innovative, high-quality, residential development. Through his vision and under his stewardship, the organization brings a zeal for dynamic development solutions to markets and properties that are often overlooked by other developers. Evidence of his foresight, creativity, ingenuity and ultimately his success, can be seen in the development of several hundred units in multiple projects.

For a sample of the forward thinking and successful projects developed by Mr. René Lépine within the Groupe Lépine International group of companies, please see our
Track Record

Vice-President, Logistical Support & Client Relations

An integral part of Groupe Lépine International since joining the organization in the late 90s, Mrs. Lepine’s position and responsibilities have grown as the company has expanded and taken on new projects. Her advanced organizational and detailed management skills assure the organization has the appropriate logistical support.

In her capacity as Vice-President and Assistant to Mr. Lépine, Mrs. Lépine has a broad range of internal and external responsibilities, including office management, liaison with customers and clients, and community relations.

Born and raised in Sint Maarten, Netherlands Antilles, Mrs. Lépine comes from one of the country’s most prominent business families, where she has had extensive involvement and exposure to international business since her childhood. Educated in Canada, she has been a resident of Montreal since 1972 and still maintains strong business, personal and cultural ties.

For close to 20 years, she has worked with Groupe Lépine International from Canada to Florida, and now Sint Maarten, focusing most of her time on sales management and customer relations. A key team member, Mrs. Lépine’s organizational experience and customer relation skills are fundamental assets in her capacity as Vice-President.

Sales Director
Mr. Barré was raised in the sales and service industry. After starting to work in sales part time during his teens, he became the third generation to operate the family automobile dealership established by his grandfather in 1929. As commuter traffic was redirected over time, he eventually oversaw the repurposing of the business' assets into new more profitable ventures.

In 1994, Luc Barré moved his family to Sint Maarten where for more than a decade he applied his sales and marketing skills to the operation of one of the more successful automobile rental businesses on the island. In doing so, he ventured into the local real estate market both as a builder and as a landlord, which helped him gain a solid working knowledge of the local values, processes, players and opportunities.

Over the recent decade Luc has both operated real estate brokerage firms and acted as in-house sales director for several high profile residential real estate developments.

Mr. Barré joined Groupe Lépine International in 2013 to take charge of the sales operations for Indigo Green, the group's latest $40+ million development located on 7 acres of prime oceanfront property in Sint Maarten. His four decades of experience in sales and marketing, together with his extensive knowledge of the local real estate landscape and mechanisms will prove to be a strong asset for the group's development projects going forward.

Project Manager
As an experienced Construction and Project Manager, Fraser Barnfather has proven his ability at handling a mixed portfolio of large and small projects, as well as effectively managing teams of staff, professionals and subcontractors. He brings exceptional administrative & contract administration skills to set priorities and organize work to meet deadlines.

As a successful leader, Mr. Barnfather understands the integrity and effort it takes to work closely with his clients, investors, teams of architects, engineers, contractors and other real estate professionals from conceptual design to completion of any project.

From a regulatory perspective, he is safety focused and has significant experience in permitting, zoning rules and regulations, government legislation, policies & procedures, as well as the design and scheduling of utility service connections.

Prior to joining Groupe Lepine International, Fraser acquired over 30 years of experience in the real estate sector of which 14 years were with a major real estate company operating cross-border between Canada and the US. Over the past 18 years, he led his own development, investment and construction companies operating throughout South Florida.

Mr. Barnfather’s well diversified background and expertise will be a significant asset as Groupe Lépine International moves into real estate development in more challenging areas.

Managing Director
Mr. Roth is a Senior Executive with over 25 years proven experience in the real estate development industry including land, industrial, retail, office and high-rise condominiums (40+ floors).

He has worked closely with teams of architects, engineers, law firms, general contractors, marketing firms and other related real estate professionals to provide integrated concepts to design and build numerous development projects throughout Central Florida, South Florida and the Caribbean.

His significant experience in these fields has resulted in exceptional project returns in timely and well-coordinated ventures. His strong negotiation skills have successfully obtained approvals within numerous governing bodies where land-use codes and/or neighborhoods were not initially favorable to development.

Prior to Joining Groupe Lepine, Mr. Roth spent 17 years with the Plaza Group (www.plaza-group.com) and owned and directed numerous firms including The Signet Companies (www.signetcompanies.com).

Mr. Roth holds a BA in economics and a MBA specializing in finance from Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida. He is a licensed General Contractor, Underground Contractor and Real Estate Broker within the State of Florida.

His background and expertise will be of significant value as the company moves into real estate developments in more challenging areas.