Hillwood, the Dallas-based property company, is entering the Canadian real estate market. Hillwood has entered a partnership with Alberta land developer Highfield Investment Group (HiG) to build what will be the largest speculative industrial development in Alberta.
The 500,000 sq ft facility will be constructed in the High Plains Industrial Park near Calgary. This particular market was chosen based on the company’s view that Calgary is the distribution hub for Western Canada and for the city’s growth potential.
High Plains Industrial Park was selected as a building site for the due to its proximity to infrastructure, an important consideration when looking to attract top tenants.
The park is already home to a 1.3 million sq ft Target facility. Plans are in place for Gordon Foods Service to move into a 290,000 sq ft building, which is currently being built.
Compared with building in the City of Calgary proper, Rocky View County is cheaper from a tax point of view. Annual savings for companies add up to approximately $1.00 per sq ft.
Hillwood had set a goal to keep its prices below $500,000 per acre to the end-user. By sticking to this price point, the company has seen significant traffic in the market.
The company has also announced that it will enter the European logistics real estate market and will be making €1 billion worth of investments in the next three or four years. Hillwood Europe will make both direct and indirect investments in major markets in Central and Western Europe the acquisitions, joint ventures with other developers and developments.
The firm’s new offices are located in Frankfurt, Germany and Warsaw, Poland.
