Canada’s Third Quarter Office Figures Are In

Canada’s third quarter office figures are in. 

According to a new report from commercial real estate services firm CBRE Canada, while the country’s office markets aren’t as healthy as they were pre-pandemic, they are doing relatively well compared to other nations. 

The report’s overarching theme is that the Canadian market is inching closer to equilibrium (albeit slowly). 

According to CBRE national managing director Jon Ramscar, while vacancy may still not be at pre-pandemic levels, Canada actually houses three cities with the lowest vacancy rates in North America. In Q3, Vancouver’s rate was at 7.1%, Ottawa’s was 11.5%, and Toronto’s was 11.8%. For comparison, Manhattan saw a vacancy rate of 15.2%, San Francisco’s was 24.2%, and this figure was 32.2% in Dallas. Ramsay says this is due to Canadian cities having lower vacancy rates pre-pandemic and to Canada’s relatively small number of major building owners. 

According to the report, 2.1M sq. ft of positive net absorption was recorded this quarter, though much of this was attributed to the delivery of pre-leased new supply. If excluding the gains from new supply, national net absorption would have still remained positive, totalling to 207,000 sq. ft.

Aligned with the four-quarter average of 14.5M sq. ft, the recovery of national sublet space has plateaued, says CBRE. 

There is room for optimism on the pandemic recovery front for the country’s offices, even if remote or hybrid work is here to stay. According to the report, overall, minor recovery was noted over the quarter as vacancy decreased 10 basis points to 16.4% — a first since the onset of the pandemic. This was led by further improvement in the suburbs as downtown markets remained stable at 16.9% vacant. 

The report reveals that downtown tenants are prioritizing quality over cost. According to CBRE, the national vacancy rate of Downtown Class B office towers is nearly 50% higher than for that of Class A buildings. 

Meanwhile, office construction levels have lowered to 12.7M sq. ft with major project deliveries coming to market in downtown Toronto, and suburban Montreal and Halifax this quarter.

Generally speaking, CBRE says most markets were relatively stable, with a few standouts. The report points to Calgary and the Waterloo Region as markets that experienced a pick-up in activity, primarily from engineering, financial services, and creative industry firms. On the other hand, Vancouver and Ottawa saw some softening, with tenants no longer requiring the full extent of their spaces after switching up “business as usual.” In both cases, this resulted in an uptick to sublease offerings, says CBRE. 

The reality remains that there are a lot of unused commercial spaces in urban centres throughout the country. “Persistent elevated vacancy could trigger the conversion of outdated properties to other product types and has started to occur in select markets,” highlights the report.

Source Storeys Click here to read a full story

Maple Reinders Overcomes Hurdles to Turn Old Warehouse Into Storage Facility

MAPLE REINDERS – The Vanguard Self-Storage Facility in Richmond Hill, Ont. was transformed from an old warehouse into a brand new facility. The general contractor was Maple Reinders. ADG Architecture was the initial architect but A.W. Trusevych Associates Architect Inc. took over once construction began. Hannigan Engineering Limited was the structural consultant; Tristar Engineering was the electrical and mechanical consultant; Ainley & Associates Limited did the civil design; Applied Fire Technology Inc did the fire protection design; and Brodie & Associates Landscape Architects Inc. did the landscaping.

The transformation of an old warehouse into a new self-storage facility was not an easy task for the Maple Reinders team but after overcoming a number of challenges the project reached substantial completion earlier this year.

Vanguard Self Storage, located at 75 Newkirk Rd. in Richmond Hill, Ont., started out as a one-storey, 2,244-square-metre building with office space on a mezzanine at the front of the building.

“We renovated the building to include for 1,886.5 square metres of rentable area on the ground floor and 1,898.2 square metres of rentable area on the second floor with retail offices on the first floor. The project was estimated at $4.835 million at the start…and finished at $6.04 million,” said Kathy Schaeffer, project manager at Maple Reinders.

Construction was scheduled to begin in January 2021 and be completed by October but was delayed due to the government shutdown for the COVID-19 pandemic. The team mobilized to site but was ordered to shut down again from the middle of April to the end of May 2021. 

“The team was able to order and secure all of the structure and locker materials right away and the owner stored everything on site or in some of their other facilities so that we could continue with the project and not have to wait for any materials,” said Schaeffer. “This helped but the project took a huge hit on schedule due to these shutdowns and due to unavailable labour because of COVID-19 illnesses. The project did not get substantial completion until April 2022.” 

The shutdowns added a major delay and brought paving and landscaping into winter months, which meant they had to be postponed until the spring to save on money and deficient material, Schaeffer explained.

“Our team was able to procure a lot of the building materials and have them shipped to site regardless of timing,” she said. “Structural steel was put into production immediately and the locker material/doors were as well. This meant that we were able to mitigate supply delays that a lot of other projects were experiencing. It also meant we didn’t get the multiple price hikes that the industry had to go through during this time.”

ADG Architecture was the initial architect on the project but went bankrupt just after the start of construction so A.W. Trusevych Associates Architect Inc. took over, she explained.

“The owner found it hard to find another one to take over so we had a few months where Maple and the owner had to make our own decisions on discrepancies and changes that were needed until a new architect was found,” Schaeffer said.

The team also faced some design challenges.

“We were trying to fit a new structure into an existing one and the old drawings were not as detailed as they are today,” said Schaeffer.

“We found a lot of structure underneath the slab when we pulled it out and had to rework foundations and helical piers to accommodate them. Walls were not straight, which meant the grids had to be reworked in some areas. We found a lot of structural compromises when we did some cutting for openings that had to then be reworked and supported.”

The existing warehouse, built in the 1970s, received an addition on the back in 1980 as well as a front office addition in 1992.

“Due to the different exterior material, the face was very uneven, so we had to use spray applied vapour barrier to ensure proper coverage,” Schaeffer explained. “We also had to use an extensive shoring system at the front of the building where we removed the existing second floor structure to accommodate the new structure but kept the old façade.”

Although the main structure of the building was structural steel, each addition was built with different exterior material. The original building was brick, the first addition was block and the second addition was a mixture of block, brick and then block and glazing. Foundations were also a mix of concrete and block with the various additions.

“When doing the renovations, we added an internal structural steel skeleton to support the second floor mezzanine, complete with decking and a concrete floor,” said Schaeffer. 

“We kept the brick and block walls but refinished the building with metal panelling and ACM panels to give it a more clean and consistent finish. Two elevators were added. One was able to fit in the existing high roof at the back of house, but we had to cut the roof and build a higher opening for the other one. The addition of the high tower and curtain wall glazing at the entrance finished the building off really well.”  

Source DailyCommercialNews Click here to read a full story

Dream Industrial: 10 Years of Growth, More to Come

Dream Industrial REITchief executive officer Brian Pauls and members of his team rang the bell to open the Toronto Stock Exchange on Sept. 26 and mark the trust’s 10-year anniversary.

Pauls, who assumed his role on Jan. 1, 2018 after leaving a senior executive role with Denver-based real estate firm PaulsCorp, recently spoke with RENX about Dream Industrial’s growth through its first decade as well as its strategies and outlook.

Pauls said Dream Industrial had a market cap of about $800 million and close to $1.5 billion in assets when he joined. Those figures are now approximately $2.82 billion and $7 billion, respectively.

“We’ve got a great team that can identify opportunities in value and a team that can unlock that value,” said Pauls, who noted that has also garnered great investor support.

“We’ve grown our funds from operations, we’ve grown our total portfolio size and we’ve enhanced our yields just through creating value for the properties we have, as well as identifying new opportunities that have been created for the REIT.”

Dream Industrial’s evolution and growth

Dream Industrial has added density to existing properties and undertaken greenfield development in Canada, the U.S. and Europe.

As of June 30, it owned, managed and operated 257 industrial assets comprising approximately 46 million square feet of gross leasable area. In-place and committed occupancy was 99.1 per cent on that same date.

Sixty-two per cent of Dream Industrial’s portfolio is in Canada, largely in Greater Toronto, Greater Montreal and Calgary.

However, it elected to expand into the U.S. almost five years ago to create scale and access more markets and liquidity — which couldn’t have been achieved by remaining solely in the Canadian market.

The American strategy is to pursue long-term growth alongside institutional partners through a retained 25.35 per cent interest in a private open-ended U.S. industrial fund.

A subsidiary of the trust provides property management, construction management and leasing services to the fund at market rates.

“We’d like to see that fund grow and our participation in that continue to grow,” said Pauls.

Dream Industrial’s European expansion was enabled by Blackstone’s late 2019 acquisition of all the subsidiaries and assets of Dream Global REIT for $6.2 billion.

Much of the Dream Global team moved to Dream Industrial and hit the ground running with a pipeline of deals and opportunities that were previously exclusive to the Dream Global platform.

The European portfolio is primarily located in the Netherlands, Germany and France.

Diversification is valued

The move also enabled Dream Industrial to access European-denominated debt, which was quite a bit cheaper than North American debt, and to diversify its risk.

“Now we’ve got a risk profile that spreads across many tenants, many geographies and even different product types,” said Pauls.

“We have urban logistics, which would be considered last-mile properties. We’ve got large distribution facilities and then we’ve got light industrial and light manufacturing, where there’s a lot of tenant investment in those properties.”

Canadian urban logistics properties are the hottest asset class in the portfolio at the moment, according to Pauls, as that is where Dream Industrial sees the highest rent growth, replacement cost and barriers to entry. Such properties in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) are where it has the highest opportunities for mark-to-market rents.

Development remains important

Dream Industrial prefers to allocate five per cent of its balance sheet to development, which gives it an opportunity to increase yields and create product it otherwise may not have been able to buy.

Pauls said development yields are in the six per cent range, while yields on intensifying properties the trust already owns are in the high single digits. Both numbers are higher than for buying income-producing properties.

Dream Industrial’s net debt-to-asset ratio is under 30 per cent, but Pauls said it would be happy if that number was in the mid-to-high-30s.

Dream Industrial identifies opportunities to recycle assets within its portfolio and reinvest the proceeds into higher-quality properties that are less management- and capital-intensive.

Unit prices are undervalued

There’s a significant disconnect between the valuations of private and publicly owned real estate companies at the moment, as Pauls said the public markets tend to move on momentum and create a herd mentality.

Dream Industrial’s stock price closed at $11.02 on Oct. 5, not too far off its 52-week low of $10.34 and well below the 52-week high of $17.60.

Pauls sees buying Dream Industrial units as a great opportunity to acquire ownership in quality real estate at below replacement cost and net asset value.

“I feel passionate that we’re undervalued,” said Pauls. “What we’re trying to do is run the company well, deliver good results, create value every day and do the best we can from an operations and management standpoint.”

Unlike some other REITs, Dream Industrial hasn’t bought back any of its own units because it’s using capital for development and intensification.

During the second quarter, construction began on a 154,000-square-foot ground-up development in Caledon in the GTA and a 120,000-square-foot expansion in Montreal.

Dream Industrial is under construction on more than 680,000 square feet of projects across Canada and Europe and is in the final stages of advancing the construction of 800,000 square feet of projects in the near term.

The trust’s development and expansion pipeline totals approximately 3.4 million square feet in land-constrained markets in Canada and Europe.

Positive outlook for the future

Pauls believes real estate is a good place to invest in the current economic environment and that industrial is by far the best asset class due to its stability, the long-term nature of its contracts, the underlying health of its tenants and the strength of its demand.

Pauls expects replacement costs and barriers to entry to continue to rise due to increasing demand for industrial space along with land constraints, rising material costs and labour shortages.

“I think it’s hard to say what’s going to happen with inflation, interest rates and the geopolitical factors that influence economies, but we’re very happy with the asset class that we’re in,” said Pauls.

“We think being in real property is a bit of a hedge against inflationary pressures. We’re happy with where we’re at.”

Source Real Estate News EXchange Click here to read a full story

QuadReal Picks Homebuilder for First Phase of Toronto Mall Redevelopment

QuadReal Property Group is teaming up with one of the Greater Toronto Area’s largest homebuilders as part of the first phase of redeveloping a suburban mall once home to U.S. retailer Target.

Vancouver-based QuadReal said it selected Mattamy Homes, which constructs about 8,000 homes annually, to build condominiums on a standalone, 2.3-acre site on The East Mall Crescent that is part of the Cloverdale Mall redevelopment.

Toby Wu, executive vice president of development at QuadReal, said Mattamy’s plans for the site and cultural alignment fit with his company’s vision for the site.

Plans for the larger 32-acre Cloverdale Mall site at the intersection of Highway 427 and Dundas Street West in central Etobicoke include new retail, for-sale condos, apartments, parks and green space, amenities, and below-grade parking.

QuadReal said it has a long-range vision for the site, which is still anchored by Home Hardware, Rexall Drugstore, Winners, Kitchen Stuff Plus and Metro. The mall was first built in 1956.

Plans for the first phase on the 2.3 acres known as the Triangle Site is a 32-storey tower and an 8-storey mid-rise with more than 500 condos and 2,400 square feet of retail.

Mattamy will acquire a partial interest in the site and will be the execution partner for development, construction, and sales and marketing.

QuadReal will be in charge of the overall direction of the district master plan along with maintaining long-term ownership of the retail and purpose-built rental components.

“QuadReal is a key partner in our delivery of 13,000 condo sales within the next five years,” said David Stewart, president of Mattamy’s GTA urban division, in a statement.

Source Costar Click here to read a full story

Company Tied to Former Calgary Flames Captain Scores With Toronto Land Deal

A company associated with former NHL forward Jim Peplinski, who captained the only Stanley Cup win in Calgary Flames history, has sold nearly $117.3 million in land and property in the Toronto region.

CoStar data from land records show a portfolio of three retail and industrial properties sold at the end of August at 56, 58 and 60 Fieldway Road. The deal includes 4.38 acres of land.

Peplinski, also a member of the 1988 Canadian hockey team that competed in the Calgary Olympics that year, has been in the car leasing business for more than 30 years.

Property records indicate the portfolio’s seller was Stowe Holdings Ltd. That company is held in the name of the retired hockey player’s wife, Catherine Peplinski.

“The property was originally bought by my father-in-law to run Jiffy Foods,” said Peplinski in an interview with CoStar News. “It was the early days of catering trucks.”

After Peplinski retired from hockey in 1995, ending a career that included scoring 161 goals with 263 assists, he established a successful car company called Peplinski Leasing.

“I began to develop all sorts of ideas for a business that would be fulfilling. In the fall after the [Stanley] Cup, my father-in-law Stew Esplen called to suggest I look at an ad he saw in the Globe and Mail. Peters and Co., an Alberta-based company, was selling non-core assets that turned out to be a small leasing company called Hartfield Chieftain Leasing,” according to a biography posted on the company’s website.

Peplinski is also chairman and founder of Properly Investment, which acquires, invests and operates in Western Canadian businesses.

His father-in-law’s sons also got into dealerships under the name Humberview Trucks and were operating at the sites being sold. Peplinski said the area the land sits in has turned into a predominantly residential neighbourhood and Humberview has plans to move.

“It’s butting up against houses, so we tried to find somebody who would respect that,” said Peplinski, who wouldn’t confirm the sale price. “There are a lot of moving pieces with respect to density and costs.”

The site was sold to Feldway Road Developments, which is ultimately controlled by EllisDon Developments. Plans for the site posted online include 1,149 residential units.

“Fieldway Road is another example of EllisDon continuing to grow our service offering with our client partners throughout the development process,” said Geoff Smith, EllisDon’s chief executive, in a paid content post online.

Source Costar Click here to read a full story

H&R Sells $167.8 Million of Retail and Office Real Estate in Calgary, Toronto and Kingston

Toronto-based H&R REIT has sold a quartet of office and retail properties for $167.8 million as it looks to “simplify” its portfolio and pivot to multifamily and industrial real estate.

The real estate investment trust said it had sold a Rona Home Improvement Centre at 2665 32nd St. in Calgary, an Altalink office at 2767 2nd Ave. also in Calgary, a Bell data centre at 100 Wynford Drive in Toronto and another Rona storefront at 2342 Princess St. in Kingston.

“The retail and office dispositions that closed today are moving H&R REIT closer to achieving our portfolio simplification strategy goals,” Thomas Hofstedter, executive chairman and chief executive, said in a statement.

H&R said in October 2021 that it planned to reposition itself as a multifamily and industrial REIT, creating a publicly traded spinoff called Primaris for its retail properties.

H&R said the sale price for its latest deal was based on a weighted 6.9% capitalization rate and was closed to that value as of June 30, based on International Financial Reporting Standards.

The REIT has the option to repurchase 100 Wynford for approximately $159.6 million in 2036 or earlier under certain circumstances.

“The option to repurchase 100 Wynford Drive will allow us to capture any development upside created through our continuing rezoning efforts. We are very confident in our plan, which we believe is driving growth and creating value for our unitholders,” said Hofstedter.

H&R said property sales for 2022 are now $406 million. The REIT has also entered into a binding agreement to sell two of its retail properties in America let to automotive tenants for 17.0 million U.S. dollars, or 22.3 million Canadian dollars, at a weighted average cap rate of 5.8%.

H&R’s units were trading as much as 26% below the net asset value the Bank of Montreal has placed on the REIT’s properties and 38% below International Financial Reporting Standards, according to Jenny Ma, an analyst with BMO Capital Markets.

“Management continues to make progress on its strategic repositioning plan, which should help narrow the gap to NAV,” said Ma in a report issued last month.

Source Costar Click here to read a full story

Residential Conversion, Infill Proposed for Financial Core Heritage Building

In the midst of a transitional period of the workforce towards remote work and flexible employment situations, the traditional office building has been sent spiralling into an identity crisis. While debates play out over managing the future of the office building, some savvy developers are hoping to get ahead of the curve, and guide the industry towards the repurposing and adaptive reuse of these buildings, especially older ones that are harder to retrofit for the demands of today’s businesses. In the Toronto context, this conversation has been circulating for some time, and an interesting proposal from H&R REIT for the redevelopment of the registered heritage building at 69 Yonge Street would bring such plans into practice.

The proposal hopes to convert a 15-storey Beaux Arts era office building in the Financial District into a mixed-use residential tower and, working with PARTISANS and heritage consultants ERA Architects, construct an infill addition that would increase the size of the floor-plate while adding another five storeys above the existing building. With the infill addition, the building would reach 21 storeys (including the existing 16th storey mechanical attic) with a total height of 89m, and deliver 127 new dwelling units as well as a new restaurant unit in the basement, while maintaining the existing retail space at grade. 

The existing building, located at the southeast corner of Yonge and King Streets, is referred to as the Canadian Pacific Building and was built in 1913 as the headquarters for the Canadian Pacific Railway Company. While the base is built to the property line on all sides, the building takes on an inverted L-shape from the third storey upwards, resulting in an irregular floor-plate dimension for the entirety of the building’s commercial area. Additional factors like lack of parking, amenity space, and no connection to the underground PATH system, have been cited as aspects that contribute to decreasing the building’s value to commercial tenants, and support the case for redevelopment. 

The proposal documents also reference the current housing crisis as an underlying force that justifies a conversion of this nature. In the eyes of the proponents, meeting the growing demand for housing is more critical than “replacing office space that no longer suits the needs of the modern tenant.” This argument is made along with reference to the planning policies surrounding development in Major Transit Station Areas (MTSAs), which this site exists firmly within, to assert that a residential conversion is not only possible, but advised based on the City’s own targets for growth.  

Looking at the renderings for the proposal, it is difficult to evaluate the changes made within the heritage building when our focus is directed to the star of the show, the infill addition. While symmetry and order, pillars of the Beaux Arts style, make themselves known throughout the existing exterior, the Partisans design takes a different approach. Elongated vertical segments of curtain wall climb up the east elevation at different lengths and widths, and are topped off with arches that create a randomized display of curves and angles running up the tower. One could argue that, if any reference to the Beaux Arts style is found in the addition, it is in the grandiosity of the volume as a whole, rather than in any specific formal representations.

Inside the building, a demolition plan is outlined for all existing floors. In the 2-level basement, significant reconfiguration is required to create a commercial floorspace of nearly 4,000ft², while minimal work is required on the grade/mezzanine level retail unit. For the residential section of the building, a bike parking and amenity level occupies the second floor, and the subsequent floor-plan is relatively consistent from level 3 to 14, comprising 8 units each. 

The penthouse at level 15 features the building’s only 2-storey units that enjoy a loft space on the 16th floor, while the next floor above marks the first level of the 5-storey addition. At level 17, the suites have unique access to the roof of the heritage building in the form of a private terrace. Interestingly,  the three copper domes at the corners of the building, referred to as cupolas, would be repurposed into additional habitable space for the corner units.  

As for the heritage work, the proposal outlines a plan for the rehabilitation and restoration of the Canadian Pacific Building on site. The majority of the work to rehabilitate the primary elevations (north and west) involves recreating the entrances on Yonge and King Streets in a style that is true to their original form. The rehabilitation also involves installing new double-glazed windows with louvres for increased thermal performance. Restoration would be focussed on repairing the original stone and masonry, and reinstating the original “Canadian Pacific Building” signage with new metal letters

UrbanToronto will continue to follow progress on this development, but in the meantime, you can learn more about it from our Database file, linked below. If you’d like, you can join in on the conversation in the associated Project Forum thread or leave a comment in the space provided on this page.

Source UrbanToronto Click here to read a full story

DUO Condos Breaks Ground in Brampton

BRAMPTON, Ontario–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Capping the remarkable sales success at DUO Condos in Brampton by National Homes and Brixen Developments Inc, the construction phase of this important new two tower condominium has officially begun.

Brampton’s 2040 Vision addresses the environment, jobs, urban centres, neighbourhoods, transportation, social matters, health, arts and culture. Offering residents forward-thinking, new highrise communities that are focused on transit accessibility is a major part of that vision.

Officiated by Brampton Councillor Medeiros, the ceremony included guests from each developer. National Homes President & CEO Jason Pantalone, Managing Partners Deena Pantalone and Matthew Pantalone as well as Brixen Developments Inc. Principals Alexander D’Orazio and Andrew Iacobelli were in attendance as well as the DUO team of consultants and trades.

“DUO Condos will be a model for thoughtful communities, offering much needed housing options and amenities that cater to the evolving demographics of the city,” says Andrew Iacobelli, co-founder of Brixen Developments Inc.

The 2.6-acre transit-oriented community, situated at the corner of Steeles Avenue and Malta Ave, just west of Hurontario, will consist of two towers and over 800 units connected by an outdoor Euro-inspired piazza and courtyard. Sheridan College is close by, and the Brampton Gateway Terminal and the new Hazel McCallion LRT Station are only minutes away from DUO and slated for completion in 2024. The LRT will connect residents to Mississauga with 19 stops on the way to the Port Credit GO Station.

“Since 1992, we have had the great privilege of contributing to Brampton’s growth and evolution, including the development of over 1,850 homes in eight communities,” says Jason Pantalone, president and managing partner with National Homes. “We’re proud that with DUO, we are reaching new heights with one of the City’s first high rise condos. It’s a stunning architectural design, and a new landmark address in Brampton.”

For further information on DUO, visit duocondos.ca.

ABOUT NATIONAL HOMES 
At National, we’re committed to changing the way people think about homes. We believe that the needs of the customer should be the driving force behind every home we build.

So, before we put pencil to paper, we ask questions… a lot of questions. Of our customers. Of focus groups. Of ourselves. We think about how people are actually going to live in our homes. Then we design them… from the inside out. It’s a different way of thinking. But then, we don’t measure ourselves against what other builders have always done. Because, at National, YOU ARE THE BLUEPRINT™.

ABOUT BRIXEN DEVELOPMENTS INC 
Brixen Developments Inc. was formed in 2019 By Alexander D’Orazio and Andrew Iacobelli. The partnership confirmed their common values – commitment to quality, desire to build communities, and the underlying belief that people come first.

Alexander and Andrew hold over 20 years of residential development and construction knowledge. They are determined to integrate their company values into every project. Each of their developments are delivered within budget and within promised schedules without sacrificing their core values.

Source BusinessWire Click here to read a full story

Walmart Dist. Centre to be Harden’s First Industrial Build

UPDATED WITH CEO INTERVIEW: Harden is expanding into industrial development and has a heavyweight tenant, Walmart Canada, for its initial project in the Greater Montreal city of Vaudreuil-Dorion.

The Montreal real estate investor, builder and operator will construct a 457,000-square-foot fulfillment centre at its new Le Campus Henry Ford. The development is part of Walmart’s plan to spend $1 billion on its Canadian infrastructure during the coming year.

The more-than-$100-million Walmart facility will anchor the Henry Ford industrial park, at the intersection of Harwood and Henry Ford Streets along the Hwy. 30 corridor. Harden has plans to construct up to five additional buildings at the park, for a total of almost a million square feet of mainly logistics space.

“This announcement is very important for the history of our company,” Harden co-CEO Tyler Harden told RENX in an interview. “We feel that with our retail experience we are well-positioned to get into industrial.

“That basically is due to the longstanding relationships we’ve had for a very long time in the markets. That’s why we decided to make the leap into industrial.”

Le Campus Henry Ford in Vaudreuil-Dorion

The property was acquired by Harden in 2017 and the firm has been waiting for the right moment to take it to market. It offers excellent access to Hwys. 20, 30 and 40 to serve both the Quebec and Atlantic Canada markets, as well as reaching the U.S. border region.

Site work is underway and the facility is to be turned over to Walmart in February 2024. Harden’s in-house construction division will manage the project.

“They will fixture it with their (Walmart) technology and robotics that will be housed in the premises,” Harden explained. “Our intention is to hold that for the long term.”

Plans and specifications are being finalized, Harden said, but a portion of the building will have a green roof and it will be LEED certified – though the level is yet to be determined.

The building will have about 45 per cent site coverage and offer 225 vehicle parking stalls in addition to accommodating over 100 trucks. It will offer 40-foot clear heights in the single-storey warehouse portion, while the office area will be two storeys.

Harden’s move into industrial development

In Montreal’s burgeoning light industrial sphere this is only the beginning for Harden, which has a long history in the retail and retail CRE sectors, and also has multiresidential holdings.

The firm has about two million square feet of industrial capacity in its development pipeline (including Le Campus Henry Ford) and Harden said it plans to grow the sector.

“Our vision is to continue to grow in the industrial-asset class and more specifically in logistics uses. This is a sector which we feel very strongly and bullish about,” he explained.

“It’s one where we feel it’s a natural fit to complement our current model from a retail perspective.”

The firm has long-established contacts with many retailers. And, it will also soon manage one of Walmart’s other Canadian stores.

As part of its facilities management agreement with RioCan REIT in Quebec, it will assume responsibility for La Gappe in Gatineau on Oct. 1. Walmart anchors the shopping centre.

“We feel with the industrial, we are able to help (retailers) out with their existing store networks, so it’s essentially extending our market intelligence further from not only existing store networks, future store networks, but also how that impacts their online presence and how an omni-channel presence and synergy can be created.”

Walmart’s $1-billion infrastructure plans

The investment is also significant for Walmart, being its first fulfillment centre in the province.

“This important investment is the latest example of Walmart’s commitment to Quebec,” said Cyrille Ballereau, Walmart Canada regional vice-president for Quebec, in a release.

“We are investing for growth in Quebec and creating jobs for Quebecers to better serve our customers. Quebecers will see refreshed stores, quicker service and more options available in-store and online.”

The facility will have the capacity to store a half-million items to fulfill direct-to-home and in-store pickup orders and be capable of shipping 20 million items annually.

Walmart says its $1-billion investment across Canada includes updating and remodelling a record 80 stores this year from Port Alberni, B.C., to Carbonear, N.L.

“These projects are all part of Walmart Canada’s multi-year $3.5 billion investment to make the online and in-store shopping experience simpler, faster and more convenient,” a Walmart release states.

About Harden, Walmart

Established in 1985, Harden is a second-generation family-owned real estate company whose primary objective is to own and operate commercial, residential and industrial properties in communities throughout the provinces of Québec and Ontario.

Its vertical integration allows it to specialize in all facets of the real estate development process, including development, construction, leasing and property management.

Walmart Canada operates a chain of more than 400 stores serving 1.5 million customers each day. Walmart Canada’s flagship online store, Walmart.ca, is visited by more than 1.5 million customers daily.

With more than 100,000 associates, Walmart Canada is one of Canada’s largest employers and is ranked one of the country’s top 10 most influential brands.

Source Real Estate News EXchange. Click here to read a full story

Podcast: Investing in Commercial and Industrial Real Estate

Steffany Boldrini, principal at Monte Carlo Real Estate Investments, joins host Chad Griffiths to explore a variety of investment topics including some niche sectors.

Among the topics they discuss are a market overview and outlook, investing in car washes and self-storage, and tips and strategies for investing.

This interview was conducted live, so comments and questions from viewers will be visible in the chat window.

Boldrini began her commercial real estate investing career in her spare time by taking on a mentorship program with an experienced retail investor who gave her an extremely valuable early education in the world of commercial real estate.

Through this mentorship she began to make offers on both retail and office properties and began her journey as a full-fledged real estate investor.

Through her exposure to multiple real estate asset classes via her mentor, and due to the volatility and “bubble-like” state of some major markets, Boldrini began to explore other asset classes in which she could invest.

She discovered the self-storage asset class while listening to a podcast and decided to take a closer look.

During her initial investigation, Boldrini found this asset class suited her desire for long-term passive income without high levels of maintenance or management, offering more personal and financial freedom.

Even more importantly, she believes self-storage is an asset class which is, for all intents and purposes, “recession-resistant.”

Boldrini hosts the Commercial Real Estate Investing from A-Z podcast. The show focuses on investing in retail, office, industrial and self-storage properties.

Source Real Estate News EXchange. Click here to read a full story