Wesbild hits paydirt with Vancouver industrial build
Frank O’Brien
Western Investor
First of two stacked 170,000-square foot industrial-office buildings nearly sold out as groundbreaking begins
First of two stacked 170,000-square foot industrial-office buildings nearly sold out as groundbreaking begins
Wesbild has hit paydirt early with its plan to build Canada’s largest multi-storey, mixed-use industrial-office complex on Marine Drive in Vancouver.
Marine Landing, a stacked strata project with two buildings broke ground March 4, but nearly 100 per cent of the first 170,000-square-foot building has already sold out. The industrial units are selling for $750 to $800 per square foot, while the office space on the top three floors sells for $950 to $1,000 per square foot. Marketing for the second tower is underway.
A partnership with KingSett Capital, with marketing by Colliers and Rennie, Marine Landing offers a total of 236 light industrial and office strata units near SkyTrain to a market facing a 0.4 per cent industrial vacancy rate. The design features flexible strata workspaces ranging from 600 square feet to 34,000 square feet.
“The demand has been phenomenal. I’m excited to take this project forward, build it out and build a community,” said Kevin Layden, president and CEO of Wesbild.
Dan Jordan, senior vice-president of Colliers, attributed part of the quick sell out to micro-units smaller than 1,000 square feet, which is rare in most new industrial-office projects, extra wide walkways and loading bays and 8,000-pound capacity freight elevators, plus amenities that rival residential strata projects. These amenities include a 15,000-square-foot rooftop patio with dog park, gym and end-of-trip cycling facilities, 42 electric-vehicle charging stations, a large lounge space for meetings and socializing, a full kitchen and on-site bakery with café.
Jordan said the micro-units have been sold to several local light-industrial companies including a fishing lure manufacturer, dental crown manufacturer, an action-figure importer and fashion wholesalers.
Breka Bakery is also setting up a new commissary and 24/7 café at Marine Landing.
The new strata complex is being built as industrial vacancy reaches an all-time low for Greater Vancouver and rental rates for industrial space have increased 18.8 per cent from a year ago, Jordan noted
Wesbild development manager Brennan Finley, who is overseeing construction of the twin six-storey project at 8188 Manitoba Street in southwest Vancouver, estimated it would cost from $110 million to $120 million to build and be complete by 2024.
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