Panattoni Development Co. will build two industrial buildings on spec on Oshawa’s Thornton Road South. (Courtesy Panattoni)

Panattoni Development Company, Inc. will officially break ground on a 631,000-square-foot speculative industrial development on Thornton Road South in Oshawa on Thursday, Aug. 29.

The Sacramento-based developer acquired the empty parcel of land at 1121 and 1147 Thornton Rd. S. in April 2018 from History Hill Group for $7.425 million. It’s part of an industrial development pipeline of almost five million square feet which Panattoni is either building, or plans to start constructing, in Canada during the next 18 months.

“We were actively looking to acquire land for development in the East End when we came across this opportunity,” Panattoni development manager Ryan Smele told RENX.

“Not only was the site available for purchase, but it features key elements that we are looking to acquire, including being along the Highway 401 corridor with multiple interchanges, and in an already established industrial node, in conjunction with a city that is very receptive to development.”

The project’s two buildings will be Panattoni’s first spec development in Durham Region.

“Due to increasing demand throughout the GTA and the declining availability, we believe that there is very strong demand for new product throughout the GTA and that we will experience some pre-leasing prior to construction completion as we have experienced on other projects,” said Smele.

“Further, a number of tenants don’t know their size requirements 12-plus months out, or have very specific occupancy-date requirements which are hard to meet if construction hasn’t begun, so waiting to secure tenants can limit the tenant pool.

“Overall, we believe in the East market and are excited to deliver brand new and efficient product that has historically been lacking in the East End versus other GTA markets.”

Industrial availability and vacancy rates in the GTA hover around 1.2 to 1.5 per cent and have been steadily declining for several years.

Thornton Road development details

One building will be 410,588 square feet with a 40-foot clear height under steel joists, while the other will be 220,674 square feet with a 36-foot clear height under steel joists.

The two structures will feature: high-efficiency LED lighting; early suppression, fast response sprinklers; precast construction; ample loading doors; and combined parking for 30 trailers and 380 cars.

Office areas will be built to suit. Occupancy is expected in the second or third quarter of 2020.

“The buildings and zoning allow for a large spectrum of industrial uses, from traditional warehousing or e-commerce to manufacturing and assembly and even outside storage,” said Smele.

Panattoni in Canada

Privately owned Panattoni was launched in 1986 and has 24 offices worldwide. It has developed more than 120 million square feet of space across the United States, Europe and Canada while working with 2,500 clients.

Panattoni Canada was launched in 2004. It has its head office in Toronto, a regional office in Edmonton and operations in Ontario, Alberta and Quebec.

It has delivered manufacturing and distribution facilities for Adidas Canada, Canadian Tire, BMW, Kuehne + Nagel, Whirlpool Canada, Loblaws, Rubbermaid, Colgate-Palmolive and Wayfair in Canada. That client list is about to expand significantly.

Panattoni has more than 4.8 million square feet of construction starts planned in 2019 and 2020 over 10 Canadian projects. Its current developments include:

* a 308,545-square-foot spec industrial building at 2220-2260 Matheson Blvd. E. in Mississauga that should be ready for the second or third quarter of 2020;

* a 212,233-square-foot expansion at 6 Manchester Court in Bolton, Ont. that will be ready for the first quarter of 2020. There’s 150,897 square feet available for lease;

* a 50,000-square-foot expansion at 1702 Tricont Ave. in Whitby, Ont. All of the space is available for lease;

* a 440,00-square-foot spec industrial building at 883 Thornton Rd. S. in Oshawa. Substantial completion is expected in late 2020;

* a 265,000-square-foot spec industrial building at 50 Aeropark Blvd. in Hamilton;

* and two design-build projects underway at 10254 Hurontario St. in Brampton that total 1.4 million square feet.

Panattoni and Manulife Investment Management are also partnering on the development of a piece of industrial land in the southeast area of Edmonton.

The partners recently purchased the 148-acre parcel in Fulton Creek Business Park at 6010 30th St. N.W. for an undisclosed price. It represents development potential of more than 1.5 million square feet.

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