Ontario Construction News staff writer
Granite REIT and leasing partner JLL Canada have announced a plan to build the Granite Telephone City Logistics Centre in Brantford.
The 1.7-million sq. ft. business park is located about 1.5 hours from Toronto in an area recognized for its highly educated workforce and multicultural population.
The initial phase of the development will include a 409,000 sq. ft. building pre-leased to Barry Callebaut for a new specialty chocolate production facility representing a projected investment of more than US $100 million. It’s the company’s largest capital investment in a North American production facility and will occupy about one quarter of the industrial park’s total space.
“We are proud to offer new and state-of-the-art facilities to help local, national and international companies expand into the region and positively impact the market for years to come”, said Kevan Gorrie, president and CEO at Granite REIT.
The developer is seeking a Two Green Globes rating with a significant achievement in resource efficiency, reducing environmental impacts, and “improving occupant wellness”.
“Brantford is very pleased to welcome Barry Callebaut to our community,” said Mayor Kevin Davis. “We very much look forward to Barry Callebaut joining our expanding list of food manufacturing facilities.”
Brantford’s availability rate is extremely low at 0.95 per cent as of Q2 2022, which means there is limited space for businesses to expand.
The Granite Telephone City Logistics Centre is currently under development and the first phase is expected to be delivered in Q1 2024.