A Spotlight on Multi-storey Industrial in Metro Vancouver
- Late last year, Prologis, a global industrial real estate owner and developer, completed construction of a large bay multi-storey industrial development in Seattle— the first of its kind in North America.
- Like Seattle, as well as many of the other global cities that already have similar facilities, Metro Vancouver’s industrial market is experiencing the pressures of a booming e-commerce sector, as well as record demand and highly constrained supply. As a result, many in the industry are now asking ‘when’, and not ‘if’, we will witness developers proposing this type of solution for our local market.
- The fact that the vertical trend is taking off in markets as widespread as Sydney, Singapore, Seattle and New York is also important, as it demonstrates the changes to distribution networks and patterns resulting from the rise of e-commerce and same-day delivery. As consumer expectations continue to shift toward this on-demand model, the multi-story warehouse design will only strengthen in appeal.
- When considering whether a development like Prologis’ Georgetown Crossroads development in Seattle is likely to occur in Metro Vancouver, the answer is almost certainly yes. While there will be challenges— the availability of suitable land, significant capital requirements, and securing tenants prepared to pay higher-than-typical rents— there are simply too many factors driving the push to go vertical.
