From left: Cathy, Tanya and Patrick Rocca (Photo by Marko Shark)
By Dennis McCloskey
When Patrick, Cathy and Tanya Rocca were growing up in St. John, N.B., the siblings watched their father, Pat Rocca, grow a construction and real estate development business into one of Canada’s largest Maritime development companies. Yet, none of the children made a conscious and specific decision at an early age to follow in their father’s footsteps.
Patrick, now 49, studied hospitality and business (University of New Brunswick and later graduated from Ryerson in Toronto); Cathy, 42, obtained a Commerce Degree from McMaster University in Hamilton; and younger sister, Tanya, 36, graduated from Hospitality, Hotel & Restaurant Management at York University and Humber College.
Today, all three are real estate agents in Ontario and at the pinnacle of success in the real estate business.
Go figure!
“I guess you could say real estate is in our blood,” says Cathy, who 10 years ago (along with Tanya) formed The Rocca Sisters & Associates at Royal LePage Burloak Real Estate Services in Burlington, Ont. “It came easy to us because we grew up around the business and we saw our father work very hard as we’d accompany him at an early age to construction sites. That’s where we gained an interest in – and a passion for – real estate.”
It all started with their late grandfather and great uncle, who came to Canada’s east coast to start a flooring, concrete and construction business in St. John. Pat Rocca took the business to another level in the early 1950s when he started RGL Enterprises (Rocca Group Ltd.) and over the next 25 years he planned, leased and managed more property than any other developer in Atlantic Canada that included commercial, industrial and residential properties. At one point he was dubbed “The King of the Malls” in the Atlantic Provinces.
Pat is now retired and his wife, Joan, died five years ago. Their children are proudly carrying on the family real estate tradition with two separate firms in Ontario.
“I wanted to be a cop but my dad said no,” says Patrick. “I think he knew I’d be a natural in the real estate business.” Turns out, father knows best.
Patrick joined the Commercial Division of Bosley Real Estate in Toronto in 1991, took a year off to work with his father in the development area and returned to Bosley to work in residential. He became a broker in 1992 and today he is the top unit-producing agent among 250 people in five branches with the boutique brokerage. The active sports enthusiast is married with two teenage children and lives and works in the Leaside area of Toronto.
Patrick’s sisters, Cathy and Tanya, moved to Ontario in 1988 and settled in the Burlington-Waterdown area because that’s where their mother’s family was located. Both are sales reps and accredited staging professionals who have grown their decade-old business into a well-known brand that includes 12 agents and eight support staff. The Rocca sisters are ranked No. 3 in Canada out of 14,500 Royal LePage agents nationwide and they were No. 1 in Burlington and Hamilton for sales production and volume for Royal LePage in 2013.
Both sisters are married and live on the same street. Cathy has a boy under a year old and Tanya is expecting a girl in September. The sisters agree they have a special connection, or bond, and say they are “first and foremost…sisters, best friends and partners.” On occasion, they will call on big brother regarding business matters. The siblings describe their relationship as close, especially when the families gather at the family cottage down east.
“We grew up in an amazing and loving family,” says Cathy. “We never felt any pressure from our father to go into the real estate business, but he did encourage it. We’re glad he did because we all fell in love with it!” She adds that they are an entrepreneurial family who are not afraid of taking risks.
Patrick maintains there is no rivalry between him and his sisters and he admits to being “very very” proud of his younger sisters. (He jokingly takes credit for their success.) When asked why the three aren’t part of an expanding family dynasty, Patrick chuckles and says each has his and her own distinct and unique style. “We have all established our own identity on different levels.”
He laughs good-naturedly when he hears the George Burns joke that “happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family in another city.” Cathy agrees that the goal was never to create a large and successful enterprise. “We just like selling homes. We love what we do,” she says, adding that all three celebrate each other’s victories.
Cathy and Tanya like to think that each has the best sister in the world and neither would like to go it alone in the real estate world. The sisters function as a safety net by being there for each other. While there is no sisterly rivalry, neither is there role identification. The big sister is not the boss of the younger sister. Their view is that they trust each other and are clear on their morals, reputation and integrity. The Rocca Sisters and Associates is actively involved in many community charitable organizations and events, including the Joseph Brant Memorial Hospital Foundation, McMaster Children’s Hospital and Juravinski Cancer Centre, to name a few.
Tanya concurs with her brother’s comment when he says all three siblings have a great relationship and are proud of each other. “We have our differences but we also have the same values and the utmost respect and admiration for each other,” says the “baby” of the family. “It is an inspiration to observe my brother and sister.” It’s an emotion that is shared by her two older siblings.
