Attracted by what its leaders describe as an attractive business environment and economic opportunity, Upfield Capital has purchased an industrial site just outside of Edmonton that houses a Home Depot distribution centre and includes several acres of developable land. 

The Vancouver-based company paid $55.15 million for the site in Acheson. It marks the relatively new company's first investment in the Alberta market. The acquisition for the 206,000-square-foot building and land is a partnership with Arrowleaf Real Estate Holdings, a long-time investor in Alberta's industrial market. 

Arrowleaf is a family-based company based in Vernon, B.C. and has over 80 real estate holdings from B.C. to Ontario.

Since its inception in 2023, Upfield Capital has made six transactions in B.C. Co-founder and principal Rob Greer told RENX it’s aiming to build a resilient, income-generating portfolio of diversified real estate assets. The move into Alberta represents a strategic expansion driven by long-term yield potential and a sharpened focus on low risk, high return assets.

Deal includes 20 year Home Depot lease 

“We’ve been closely tracking Alberta for stable, long-duration income and growth opportunities,” Greer explained. “This deal offers a 20-year lease with Home Depot and an additional 7.5 acres of zoned industrial land for which we are actively pursuing new tenants.”  

Peter Edgar, Upfield co-founder and president of EDGAR Development, said the broader market context provides a moment for smart capital deployment. The main attraction of the deal was Home Depot as a tenant, he said in an interview.

"Home Depot has got an incredible covenant," he said. "We like the term. There's 19 years left in this (lease), and the quality of the building was best-in-class.”

He said Home Depot uses the distribution centre to ship direct-to-contractor products for builders in the prairie provinces. 

Edgar said the Edmonton and Acheson market has low vacancy in the large bay industrial category and tenants will also be attracted to the relatively low property taxes. 

With a growing national portfolio and investor backing from high-net-worth individuals and family offices, Upfield continues to identify and activate income-producing, high-demand assets across Canada.

Upfield eyes build-to-suit strategy 

Greer said Upfield's strategy with the 7.5 acres of additional land is to build an industrial building to suit a future tenant. The opportunity is being marketed by JLL, he said, adding that it could also work for Home Depot if the firm was to expand its operations there. 

The Greater Edmonton industrial market is showing signs of stability, with vacancy holding steady at 4.2 per cent, unchanged from the second quarter of this year, according to Colliers' Q3 market report on the city's industrial market. 

The report said that 497,271 square feet of new supply was added to the market with all the space already pre-leased and occupied. Construction is at a five-year low of 810,662 square feet under development, with 667,775 square feet expected to be completed next quarter.

Rental rates have continued to climb 2.4 per cent year over year, the report said. 

"We really like Alberta. We think there's really strong economic tailwinds and with a really great business-friendly government," Greer said. "In Acheson, it's not just Home Depot. Amazon is doing a big deal there, Kal Tire has a location there. There's no shortage of multinational tenants that are picking Acheson.

"Specifically, they're doing all their homework so they can rely on that tax advantage. It's considerable."

Throughout its portfolio, Upfield has prioritized industrial and retail assets and the company feels optimistic about the trajectory of the economy in Western Canada.

"We believe in the economic fundamentals in Alberta and British Columbia," Edgar said. "We think that we're at the near or at the bottom of this cycle, and that there are fantastic buy side opportunities. We have a long term investment view, and we think that the acquisitions we make today are going to be fantastic three, four, five or six years in the future."