Commercial Investment Real Estate is the magazine of the CCIM Institute, the leading provider of commercial real estate education. CIRE covers market trends, current developments, and business strategies within the commercial real estate field.
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COMMERCIAL INVESTMENT REAL ESTATE 26 September | October 2017 Spurring Growth Edmonton, Alberta, has a robust industrial mar- ket with demand ranging from pet food to pot. Champion Petfoods recently announced a new 400,000-sf facility planned for the western part of Edmonton that will open in 2019. Ford Canada also announced plans for a new 400,000-sf auto parts distribution center south of Edmonton in 2018, notes Carla M. Voss, CCIM, an associate at RE/MAX Commercial Capital in Edmonton. "As the economy in Alberta has been profoundly affected with the downturn in oil prices in the last three years, this has opened up different opportunities, such as the legalization of marijuana in 2016," Voss says. The marijuana industry is igniting demand for space near the Edmonton International Airport. For example, Aurora Sky is building an 800,000-sf owner/user distribution facility to be completed during fourth quarter 2017. The facility is expected to be one of the most advanced production facilities in the world, according to Voss. Warehouse Space Under Construction and Amount Precommitted 4% 6% 8% 10% 12% 14% 16% 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017* Availability Msf Pre-comitted New Construction (L) Available New Construction (L) Existing Availability Rate (R) Source: CBRE Research, 2017 *Through Q1 2017 "While consumers spend money, there is going to be demand on a whole bunch of different indus- tries," he adds. Users looking for industrial space run the gamut from traditional manufacturers to non- traditional players, such as marijuana growers, churches, and trampoline parks. The nontradi- tional participants often seek to occupy indus- trial space, which is less expensive than retail, as long as they can pass the conditional use permit hurdles, according to Ng. "In our market, we have seen indoor sports facilities create demand for industrial as well," he says. Advanced manufacturing continues to be an important staple for the industrial market. For example, Ohio is home to operations for GE Avia- tion and auto manufacturers, such as Toyota and Honda. Those manufacturers attract demand from suppliers locating near their big clients. "Automotive is stable right now, but we have to see what happens to the whole automobile industry during the next 10 years with the self-driving cars movement," DeFilippo says.