A 1.2-million-square-foot Lowe’s Canada distribution centre is one of the recent massive industrial/logistics developments in Rocky View County, just north of Calgary. (Courtesy Lowe’s Canada)

The Concert CREC Commercial Fund LP has acquired one of Western Canada’s most significant distribution hubs, the newly constructed, 1.2-million-square-foot Lowe’s facility in Rocky View County just outside Calgary.

“We’re very excited to have secured a superb facility in an exceptional and increasingly important location,” said Brian McCauley, Concert’s president and chief executive officer, in the announcement Tuesday. “This is a coveted and key distribution hub for national and North American companies and the purchase captures a tenant in an active home improvement sector.”

Situated in the High Plains Industrial Park in Balzac, the facility sits on a 69.6-acre site, with easy access to Calgary International Airport, CN’s Calgary Logistics Park and two key transportation corridors, Queen Elizabeth II Highway and Stoney Trail.

It was developed by Calgary-based Highfield Investment Group – which is spearheading activity at the High Plains property – and represents about a $120-million investment. Construction at the site commenced in June 2020 and it was completed during the summer.

Balzac major distribution hub

In recent years, Balzac has become a major distribution hub, as land constraints in Vancouver and the GTA push national and multi-national industrial users to look elsewhere. The facility features 36-foot clear heights, ample trailer and car parking and will serve as the primary Western Canadian distribution facility for home improvement retailer Lowe’s Canada.

“With this acquisition, we are continuing our focus on building our portfolio of commercial properties and growing in attractive regions in Western Canada,” said Andrew Tong, managing director of the CREC Commercial Fund LP, in the announcement.

“Having a prominent organization like Lowe’s Canada choose this location signals their trust in the current and future importance of the Calgary area as a key logistics hub.”

The Calgary acquisition caps a year of growth for the fund, which to date has included buying the L’Oreal Distribution Centre in Montreal and two office buildings near Toronto Pearson International Airport.

Concert’s fully subscribed CREC Commercial Fund LP is a diversified Canadian portfolio created in 2016. The open-ended, limited partnership fund invests in, and actively manages, industrial and office real estate in Canada.

Concert Realty Services Ltd. manages the fund’s portfolio, which is supported by multiple Canadian pension funds and institutional investors. It has an asset value in excess of $2.3 billion and over 11.5 million square feet of leasable area.

The High Plains Industrial Park has attracted a number of major firms since Highfield made its first land purchase at the site in 2006 and development has taken off in recent years as industrial demand has risen.

The park is slated to contain about five million square feet of completed space by early 2022, Highfield president Adrian Munro told RENX in a recent interview, and there is room for at least an additional five million square feet.

Highfield recently bought about 269 acres of adjacent land to add to the 1,100 acres it already owns at the site.

About Concert

Founded in 1989, Concert develops, acquires and manages Canadian over $7 billion in assets, backed and owned by over 200,000 Canadians represented by union and management pension plans.

The firm deliver rental apartments, condominiums, seniors’ active aging communities, industrial and commercial properties, and public infrastructure projects.