While housing prices have soared throughout the country, the demand for industrial land in Kelowna has also been very strong. Over the past year there has been a 6.7 per cent increase in the amount of developed industrial space in Kelowna, according to a new report from MCL Real Estate Group. That’s added more than 700,000 square feet to the inventory, bringing the total amount of space to 11.4 million square feet.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/MCL Real Estate Group
May 09, 2021 - 7:00 AM
While housing prices have soared throughout the country, the demand for industrial land in Kelowna has also been very strong.
Over the past year there has been a 6.7 per cent increase in the amount of developed industrial space in Kelowna, according to a new report from MCL Real Estate Group. That’s added more than 700,000 square feet to the inventory, bringing the total amount of space to 11.4 million square feet.
“Available inventory remains low,” Kris McLaughlin, a senior commercial specialist and team lead with the company, is says in the report. “Available industrial development land remains scarce, competition is increasing, and we are seeing lease rates and prices steadily increase.”
Another 769,000 square feet of industrial space is under construction while almost 700,000 square feet is proposed for development, mostly in the North Kelowna Industrial Area, in the North End of downtown and at the Airport Business Park.
All the new construction means the vacancy rate has dropped from only 0.9 per cent last year to 1.9 per cent this year but the price of leasing or buying space has gone up, the report says.
Land prices range from $850,000 in the North Kelowna Industrial Area up to $2.3 million in the Midtown Industrial Area. One lot that was just under one acre in size at 1670 Dilworth Dr. recently sold for $2.325 million per acre.
The shift in the retail sector to more online selling has increased the demand for warehouse space and the growth of the cannabis industry has also pushed up demand, the report says.
Image Credit: Submitted/MCL Real Estate Group
Veritas Pharma Inc., for example, is building a 10,000 square foot cannabis growing facility on Okanagan Indian Band land at 8900 Jim Bailey Rd.
Flowr Corp and Hawthorne Canada Limited recently opened a 56,834 square foot research and development facility and are planning a 315,363 square foot indoor growing plant at 9640 McCarthy Rd.
Another major project includes two buildings covering 120,000 square feet at 230 Beaver Lake Road. Most of that space is being leased by Breathe Medical to make medical masks. A third building, covering 65,865 square feet, is close to completion.
The Factory Warehouse on Hyram Walker Court has 14 units covering almost 25,000 square feet with 11 already sold or having sales pending.
Nearby, the Jim Bailey Industrial Centre will open later this year. It covers two acres and 35,596 square feet with a number of its 17 commercial units already sold.
Even older industrial buildings are in demand. Two properties covering almost 19 acres on Potterton Road with buildings dating back to the 1970s sold for $28.25 million.
In terms of sheer size, the North Kelowna Industrial Area has 328 acres of land but is expanding with another 23 acres being developed by the Okanagan Indian Band with 300,000 square feet of buildings. Called the Duck Lake Industrial Park, it’s expected to take eight years to build out.
Kelowna has 1,318 acres of industrial land with about 280 acres that is underutilized and another 450 acres that are designated for industrial use but not yet zoned for it, the report says.
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