CanFirst Capital Management has put eight Ontario logistics and industrial assets totalling 1.05 million square feet on the market through RBC Capital Markets Real Estate Group and CBRE.

The properties are in key transportation corridors near 400-series highways, and in close proximity to good labour pools in Burlington, Mississauga, Scarborough, Etobicoke, Markham and Cambridge. 

There are four single- and four multi-tenanted properties and 89 per cent of the warehouse space is mid- and large-bay. 

The properties have extensive shipping and receiving capabilities, clear heights providing ample warehousing capacity, and varying unit configurations to accommodate a variety of occupier types.

Good income growth opportunities

The portfolio is 99 per cent leased to a high-quality and diverse tenant roster representing the energy, transportation and logistics, construction and building materials, and chemical technology sectors, among other industries. 

Average in-place minimum rents across the portfolio are $12.51 per square foot, approximately 55 per cent below market rates. 

The properties have a relatively short weighted average lease term (WALT) of 2.5 years, allowing a future owner to drive meaningful net operating income growth in the near term as leases expire and rents are rolled to market.

The Greater Toronto Area’s industrial leasing market continues to experience historically high average net rents and had a vacancy rate of just 0.8 per cent in the second quarter. 

These factors are expected to spur strong interest in the properties from different types of investors. The preference is to sell the portfolio in its entirety, but consideration may be given to the right offers for either individual properties or clusters.

No bid deadline has been announced for the properties.

The eight properties

Here’s a rundown of the eight properties:

• 71 Maybrook Dr. in Scarborough is a 44-year-old, 136,340-square-foot building on a 7.19-acre site that’s fully occupied by one tenant with a WALT of 4.5 years. Its clear height ranges from 18 to 60 feet and it has three truck-loading dock doors and eight drive-in doors.
• 81 Maybrook Dr. in Scarborough is a 37-year-old, 72,721-square-foot building on a 3.66-acre site that’s fully occupied by two tenants with a WALT of 1.5 years. It has a 22-foot clear height, six truck-loading dock doors and two drive-in doors.
• 400 Cochrane Dr. in Markham is a 39-year-old, 187,204-square-foot building on a 7.5-acre site that’s fully occupied by two tenants. Its clear height ranges from 18 to 25 feet and it has 12 truck-loading dock doors and two drive-in doors.
• 71, 81 and 91 Kelfield St. in Etobicoke is a 63-year-old, 113,178-square-foot complex on a 6.84-acre site that’s 96 per cent occupied by 10 tenants with a WALT of 2.2 years. It has a 14-foot clear height, 22 truck-loading dock doors and five drive-in doors.
• 6811 Goreway Dr. in Mississauga is a 48-year-old, 107,000-square-foot building on a 4.85-acre site that’s fully occupied by one tenant with a WALT of 0.9 years. It has an 18-foot clear height, 12 truck-loading dock doors and two drive-in doors.
• 1180 Corporate Dr. in Burlington is a 36-year-old, 70,639-square-foot building on a 4.35-acre site that’s fully occupied by one tenant with a WALT of four years. It has a 20-foot clear height, four truck-loading dock doors and one drive-in door.
• 1121 Walkers Line in Burlington is a 65-year-old, 288,161-square-foot building on a 14.87-acre site that’s fully occupied by two tenants with a WALT of two years. Its clear height ranges from 24 to 36 feet and it has 17 truck-loading dock doors and six drive-in doors.
• 400 Jamieson Parkway in Cambridge is a 20-year-old, 75,072-square-foot building on a 5.02-acre site that’s fully occupied by one tenant with a WALT of 1.1 years. Its clear height ranges from 22 to 40 feet and it has eight truck-loading dock doors and one drive-in door.

CanFirst and its funds

Toronto-based CanFirst, founded in 2002, is a commercial real estate private equity company that co-invests with institutional and private high-net-worth investors in industrial and office properties that have growth potential.

It’s involved with development, redevelopment, asset and property management, financing, leasing and construction.

The properties in the Ontario industrial portfolio that’s on the market were acquired through CanFirst’s closed-ended CanFirst Industrial Realty Fund (CIRF) program.

Seven CIRF funds have closed and CanFirst has recently been fundraising for CIRF VIII.