Kerry Gold Writes in the Globe and Mail about a local company that is using a condo-like ownership model in a new industrial park development.
Old industrial areas such as Mount Pleasant are transforming from traditional industry to tech. But developer PC Urban has created IntraUrban with light industry in mind. It is a 167,000-square-foot condo-style project for light industrial use . . . So far, architect and engineering firms, a couple of tech industries, wholesale and construction businesses and bakeries have seized on the opportunity to own their own units within city limits.
Brent Sawchyn, principal at PC Urban [says]: “We’re counting on doing more. We think the whole idea can travel. But much like single-family housing, it is getting very expensive. Much like residential land, industrial is a scarce commodity. … What that means is a variation on the theme. As we go forward here in Vancouver, industrial is going to start taking more dense forms.”
And as A Singh writes in the Asia Pacific Post, it won’t be only business owners who will be buying these units.
With an extremely limited and declining supply of industrial land in and around Vancouver, it’s not often there’s an opportunity to buy industrial property in the city. But PC Urban is now launching a new business park near Cambie and Marine. IntraUrban will allow investors and business owners the very rare chance to own commercial property within the city of Vancouver.
Isn’t this quite common? Strata tilt-up warehouse type deal?
Yes, it is quite common – but maybe not within the CoV since there’s not much new industrial construction within the CoV, just older stock.
Here’s a bunch of Beedie listings:
http://www.beediegroup.ca/properties/listing?property_type_id=industrial
Future of Molson Brewery site?
It’s a business park of office uses (or business ‘centre’ as Beedie terms), without open greenspace; access lanes lined with parking spaces instead of loading docks. It’s only new to newbies,the form pre-exists. The oblong bldgs are common in the old Newton area (128st) Surrey.
It is not even close to ‘industrial’ if strata bylaws even prohibit the welding of a muffler. There won’t be anyone grinding metal with the bay doors open on a warm day.