What is being called the most successful speculation in Metro Vancouver industrial real estate in years has seen the region’s biggest industrial project set to nearly double in size.
The Dayhu Group’s Boundary Bay Industrial Park (BBIP) launched its second phase this week, with construction starting on a new 430,000 square foot building after a hugely successful leasing campaign with Phase 1.
Dayhu’s first building saw its entire 440,000 square feet leased up within months in 2014 to tenants drawn to its proximity to the expanding Deltaport and to the new billion-dollar South Perimeter Road. Tenants leasing at BBIP include Petvalu Canada, Inc, Farrow Distribution, Specialty Distribution and Apps Cargo.
“Boundary Bay is the most successful speculative project I’ve seen in the last five years. With the success of Phase 1, it demonstrates there’s a pent-up demand from companies looking for opportunities in B.C. to avoid going to markets in Alberta,” said Chris MacCauley, vice president of CBRE, a commercial real estate agency.
Because of the Boundary Bay project, Delta outperformed all other markets in Metro Vancouver for the amount of space leased last year, according to a recent CBRE industrial market report. CBRE found that Delta accounted for 96% of all the industrial leasing in Metro Vancouver in 2014.
But the success of Dayhu’s project lies not only in its location within Delta’s newest distribution hub, but also in building efficiencies and massive cubic capacity offered by its 36-foot clear ceiling height, MacCauley said.
“There’s a very limited supply for this size and quality of warehouse in Metro Vancouver,” agreed Dayhu COO Paul Tilbury. Older buildings in the area lack modern technology and contemporary essentials such as high ceilings and on-site trailer storage, he said.
Dayhu’s 47-acre project will complete in the fall of 2015, and is expected to provide about 1,000 new industrial jobs for the area, according to Tilbury.
