Colonnade BridgePort and Fiera Real Estate announced they have successfully acquired a five-acre urban industrial site located in central Ottawa to be redeveloped into a mixed-use, high-density community hub.
Currently home to Dustbane Products Ltd., a manufacturer of sustainable cleaning products and equipment, the site consists of 155,376 square feet of industrial buildings and is located just over 3 km from Parliament Hill and downtown Ottawa. It is also adjacent to the Tremblay LRT train station, Highway 417, and is directly connected to Ottawa’s extensive pedestrian and cycling pathways.
The sale was completed as a leaseback with Dustbane, according to Hugh Gorman, CEO of Colonnade Bridgeport.
“The leaseback provides us with an attractive income return from a quality tenant and allows us the time to master-plan the project, and Dustbane the time to find an alternative location,” he said. “Looking ahead, we see a vibrant, walkable, cycle-friendly, transit-oriented community with quality mixed-use development that includes sustainable residential and commercial uses that generate long-term income returns for investors,” continues Gorman.
Colonnade BridgePort and Fiera Real Estate have partnered on several developments in the Ottawa area, including: Westboro Connection, a successful transit-oriented mixed-use development in the heart of Westboro; and Hintonburg Connection, a transit-oriented purpose-built high-rise rental building located close to Tunney’s Pasture LRT station.
“Fiera is a great partner and we have aligned objectives to build transit-oriented, mixed-use developments that are setting the standard for the Ottawa residential and commercial markets. These projects enhance the communities where we build, and they also provide attractive risk adjusted returns for our investors. We look forward to working with Fiera to create a long-term vision for this new opportunity,” said Gorman.
Benjamin Merkley, President of Dustbane, noted how important it was to select the right buyer: “We have operated on the site for most of our 112 years and wanted to ensure we sold the site to an owner who would re-develop and manage the site for the long-term,” said Merkley. “Colonnade BridgePort and Fiera Real Estate are very reputable organizations with a common goal to enhance the communities they develop in. Once we saw their vision, we knew they were the right buyer.”
With the closing complete, Colonnade BridgePort will now begin to execute the strategy to translate the vision for the site into a master plan for this unique new community.
