Brantford developer buys land for $500 million complex
09/07/2006
BY LISA GRACE MARR
The Hamilton Spectator
BRANTFORD> A Brantford developer has announced plans for a $500-million commercial and industrial complex in one of the largest single land transactions in Canada this year.
The size, scope and sheer creativity of a bold plan by King & Benton to build the complex on the west end of the city may be a sign of things to come.
Ann White, of the Canadian Real Estate News Exchange, said King & Benton’s speculative purchase of the land at Oak Park Road and Highway 403 a few years ago was “fabulous”
and reflective of a trend taking hold in the industrial and commercial market.
She said while it’s a nobrainer for a real estate developer to buy up office space in downtown Calgary on speculation, buying industrial/commercial land brings a host of unknowns.
“They tend to be huge transactions and this is an industry which is risk adverse,” White said.
But she said the mix of commercial and industrial development, location and other factors have driven U.S. land speculators in droves to the GTA.
Steve Charest, King & Benton’s president, said it’s only natural developers should start looking west of the GTA, given the provincial greenbelt legislation.
Besides, he says Brantford is bursting with potential.
“It’s a great project. I think this is the result of a developer being confident of the city.”
Neil Everson, executive director of Hamilton’s economic development department, said
Hamilton is under the gun to get its land up and running as development begins to pick up.
“We are aware of the timelines. That’s why we’re pushing to get the servicing at Glanbrook (industrial site) as soon as possible,” he said.
Tomorrow 60 of the GTA’s top industrial and commercial realtors will be given a tour and CD showcasing Hamilton’s top industrial sites such as the Glanbrook Industrial Park, McMaster’s Innovation Park and the airport lands.
Everson said it’s also a way to market Hamilton as a good place for a Tier 2 automotive supplier to find a home, just in time for Toyota’s suppliers.
Vince Guglielmo, director of marketing at the Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association, said the Toyota plant in Woodstock, slated to open in 2008 with about 1,300 employees, will need suppliers.
“Toyota is going to create something new — a new automotive cluster,” said Guglielmo.
“It makes all the sense in the world for them to locate (in Brantford and) … in Hamilton and the Golden Horseshoe.”
Charest would not name the landlords for the site. But Brantford Mayor Mike Hancock
identified the industrial developer as a global owner, manager and developer of
distribution and light manufacturing facilities.
Charest said negotiations between King & Benton and its partners is contingent upon
settling a “few details,” namely an eyebrow-raising request for the city to lift its development charges as King & Benton has proposed to regrade a (former gravel pit) and install services.
Charest argues it’s the next step in the evolution of municipal economic development.
“What we’re suggesting is a private sector company developing this land and servicing it. The reason it’s not been done is that the taxpayers have been subsidizing economic development.”
BY THE NUMBERS
300 acres: Industrial, including 4.7 million square feet of industrial buildings
80 acres: Commercial, including an 800,000-square-foot power centre and some office buildings
4 acres: SPCA land donated by King & Benton
5,000: New jobs created with an estimated $150 million in payroll
WANT TO KNOW MORE?
King & Benton is hosting an open house on Thursday, Sept. 14, from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Best Western Brant Park Inn & Conference Centre, 19 Holiday Dr. (off Wayne Gretzky Parkway immediately south of Hwy 403), Brantford.
