Panattoni Development Company Canada has been one of the most active industrial developers across the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) in recent years, and continues to advance projects which will add millions of square feet to the region's inventory.

In partnership with Mobile Climate Control (MCC), Panattoni has just broken ground on its latest project: MCC’s new 260,000-square-foot build-to-suit facility in suburban Brampton.

The $120-million project, located northwest of Toronto on the former Humber Nurseries site at 8386 Highway 50, will have a 32-foot clear height, 20,000 square feet of office space and an 11,000-square-foot research and development area.

Panattoni acquired the 23.75-acre site in 2018. It owns and leases another building next door and had also obtained site plan approval to speculatively develop and lease this site.

MCC showed interest but preferred a design-build to match its requirements, so the site plan was amended and the land severed and sold by Panattoni to MCC for $54.5 million in October 2024. Panattoni stayed on as the development manager.

MCC designs and manufactures advanced thermal management systems for heavy-duty vehicles. Its new facility will ultimately house over 550 employees.

Panattoni is aiming to deliver the building in late 2026 and MCC should be operational in it in early 2027.

Panattoni worldwide and in Ontario

Irvine, Calif.-headquartered Panattoni was founded in 1986 and has become the largest privately held, full-service real estate development company in the world while developing more than 630 million square feet. It has operated in Canada since 2005 and has offices in Toronto, Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver.

Panattoni has developed more than 2.7 million square feet of industrial space in Brampton, in the northern GTA, during the past five years.

Panattoni has several industrial buildings at various stages of the development and leasing cycles in and around the GTA. 

Completed buildings

There’s a completed 141,000-square-foot facility at 52 Futura Dr. in Halton Hills that’s zoned to permit outside storage. The building has a 40-foot clear height, 24 truck-level and two drive-in shipping doors, and is demisable to 50,000 square feet. 

“It's under contract so we'll know more towards the end of October how that deal is,” Panattoni managing partner for Canada Brad Hoffman told RENX.

There’s 129,892 available square feet at a recently completed 499,665-square-foot building at 1565 Thornton Rd. N. in Oshawa, where Geodis Logistics Canada is leasing the majority of the space.

The building has 40-foot clear ceilings, 104 truck-level and eight drive-in shipping doors, 104 trailer parking stalls and 201 employee parking spaces.

“We have some reasonable activity on the balance of the space, so overall we’re pretty pleased with the east end of Toronto,” Hoffman noted. 

Panattoni has a recently completed 444,186-square-foot facility on 22 acres at 1080 Southgate Dr. in Guelph. It has a 40-foot clear height, 61 truck-level and two drive-in shipping doors, 100 trailer parking stalls and 232 employee parking spots.

“We've got some activity on Southgate but it’s a little bit tougher right now due to the impacts of the auto sector that affects the southwest region of Ontario and the GTA,” Hoffman said. “We haven't seen the interest level where we'd like it to be.”

Under construction

A 570,014-square-foot building with a 40-foot clear height, 120 truck-level and four drive-in shipping doors, 89 trailer stalls and 337 employee parking spaces at 8000 Dixie Rd. in Brampton is scheduled for completion early next year.

A 276,730-square-foot building with a 36-foot clear height, 64 truck-level and two drive-in shipping doors, and 175 employee parking stalls at the same location is scheduled for completion next spring.

“It’s our showcase development site in Brampton and it's getting good interest, but there are no deals to talk about at this stage,” Hoffman said.

Still to come in the GTA

There are future plans for two more buildings at the Dixie Road site:

• a 299,969-square-foot facility with a 40-foot clear height, 41 truck-level and three drive-in shipping doors, 13 trailer stalls and 187 employee parking spaces;
• and a 164,860-square-foot building with a 36-foot clear height, 29 truck-level and two drive-in shipping doors, 13 trailer stalls and 98 employee parking spots.

Panattoni owns 78 acres at 5630 Thickson Rd. N., just south of Highway 407 in Whitby, that’s available for design-build options to purchase or lease. 

“We think that it sets up for a good development opportunity, possibly next year,” Hoffman said. “The priority, I think, would be for build-to-suit.” 

Panattoni demolished the former Chrysler national parts distribution centre at 6500 Mississauga Rd. in Mississauga earlier this year. It’s preparing pads for spec-built buildings of 490,000 and 670,000 square feet which could begin construction in 2026.

“We have two other sites that we're actively pursuing in the GTA, though it’s too early to talk about in great detail,” Hoffman said. “But we're definitely staying active and relevant in the Toronto market.”

The Ontario industrial real estate market

Hoffman said sentiment around the Ontario industrial market has improved from three months ago and site touring activity has picked up. 

“I think there's a legitimate desire for businesses to grow,” Hoffman explained. “They're trying to find efficiencies. 

“I think there's going to be a shortage of new supply 12 months from now so groups are starting to realize that they have to try and find a way to make a decision because the fear of missing out is real.”

Panattoni is being disciplined in its underwriting for land acquisitions as values have come down from two years ago, but some sellers haven’t dropped their price expectations accordingly. Owners are becoming more willing to provide longer timelines for due diligence and entitlements, according to Hoffman.

Panattoni is implementing more demising options for its buildings than it used to in order to accommodate a wider range of tenants and those unwilling to make full commitments.

“I don't think we're going to go out into the outlying tertiary areas of the GTA anytime soon again,” Hoffman concluded. 

“We'd rather focus on those core areas that continue to perform, that have labour, that have good transportation nodes, that have access to public transportation and all the things that some of these tenants are keying in on again that allow them to make that decision.”