Winnipeg’s industrial sector is about to get a speculative 175,000-square-foot shot in the arm.
QuadReal Property Group of Vancouver has just broken ground on a multimillion-dollar development in the Northwest Business Park without having signed up a single tenant.
The space, which will feature 28-foot-clear ceilings, bays up to 8,800 square feet in size and up to 70 truck-level doors, will be geared towards tenants in light industrial, manufacturing and logistics.
“It’s unprecedented for QuadReal to be constructing that large a building on a completely speculative basis,” said Dilpreet Mathauda, the company’s director of leasing in Winnipeg.
“There is lots of interest. We’re confident enough with the market and the need for this that we’re moving forward without a single transaction. We didn’t need a signed lease to kick this off.”
Mathauda said QuadReal is in this for the long run and wants to increase its footprint before Winnipeg hits one million people in population, which should be around 2035, according to a recent City of Winnipeg report.
It’s expected demand for industrial space will skyrocket then because more companies of all kinds will be looking to hang up their shingle once the population hits that milestone.
“We are very enthused and optimistic about where the city is headed. We love the Winnipeg market. It’s steady Eddie. You don’t see the volatility here that you see in Alberta,” Mathauda said.
QuadReal has a Canadian portfolio of more than 40 million square feet of commercial real estate and 12,000 residential rental suites.
Its international holdings span 23 cities across 17 countries and are worth more than $27 billion.
Winnipeg’s aging industrial product has also been the driving force behind the new industrial developments at the 20,000-acre CentrePort Canada near Winnipeg James Richardson International Airport.
Over the past two years, more than 400,000 square feet of industrial space has welcomed new businesses across the city. Work is currently underway on the third phase of the Brookside Industrial Park.
