Ignat "Iggy" Kaneff honoured with Lifetime Achievement Award

GREATER TORONTO, April 28, 2016 /CNW/ - A strong believer in building communities and a generous philanthropist, Ignat "Iggy" Kaneff has helped to improve the lives of many around the world over the last 65 years.

For this and much more, Mr. Kaneff received the Building Industry and Land Development Association's (BILD) highest honour this year – the Lifetime Achievement Award. Builder and land developer Mr. Kaneff received the accolade at the 36^th annual BILD Awards surrounded by his family, friends and more than 1,100 industry colleagues.

"It is my privilege to present Mr. Kaneff with this award recognizing his lifetime of achievement," said BILD President and CEO Bryan Tuckey. "He has made an immense contribution to the lives of people in the GTA and in his hometown in Bulgaria by building places where people can live, work and play."

Born in Gorno Ablanovo, Bulgaria in 1926, Mr. Kaneff came to Canada in 1951 and founded Kaneff Properties Limited in 1956. He has been a BILD member since 1959 and is currently CEO and Chairman of the Kanefff Group of Companies. He has built thousands of family homes, high-rise residential apartment units, as well as retail commercial plazas and office buildings in the GTA.

An avid golfer, Mr. Kaneff has also created six golf course properties, including the first-class Lionhead, Royal Ontario and Royal Niagara Golf Clubs. For 45 years, he has been hosting an annual golf tournament that has raised more than $1.5 million for Community Living, an organization supporting children with intellectual disabilities in Peel Region.

Mr. Kaneff has also generously donated to other charitable organizations and campaigns, both through personal contributions and the I. Kaneff Charitable Foundation, established by his wife, Dimitriana, in 1986.  His philanthropic efforts have benefitted educational, health, social services and arts causes at home and in his home village where he has built a new kindergarten, a community centre and a university facility.

In recognition of his business achievement and philanthropic initiatives, Mr. Kaneff was awarded the Order of Ontario in 2011. He has also received three honourary Doctor of Laws degrees and numerous awards for his commitment and dedication to improving communities both here in the GTA and in his hometown.

To view the Lifetime Achievement Award video about Ignat Kaneff, visit www.youtube.ca/bildgta

With more than 1,450 members, BILD, formed through the merger of the Greater Toronto Home Builders' Association and Urban Development Institute/Ontario, is the voice of the land development, home building and professional renovation industry in the Greater Toronto Area.  BILD is proudly affiliated with the Ontario and Canadian Home Builders' Associations.

SOURCE Building Industry and Land Development Association

please contact Amy Lazar, Manager of Communications at 416-391-3452/416-543-3903 or [email protected]. To learn more about the annual BILD Awards, visit www.bildawards.com