How CentrePort Gave Winnipeg’s Industrial Market Its Groove Back

For years the Winnipeg industrial real estate market was held back by dated inventory that made the gateway to the Prairies miss out on landing big-name global occupiers.

“Companies wanted to locate here,” says CBRE Vice President Cam Hildebrand, a Winnipeg-based industrial broker. “We just lacked the supply of world class facilities to accommodate their requirements.”

Something big has been happening lately, however, with record levels of construction and newly serviced land being delivered in 2021, leading to 750,000 sq. ft. of positive absorption for the industrial market by year’s end.

“It’s like we’ve unlocked our potential. Newly constructed industrial buildings are seeing multiple offers. Developers and landlords can’t keep up with demand for new product,” Hildebrand says. “We anticipate this momentum will continue.”

Enter CentrePort

A key driver of this momentum shift has been CentrePort Canada, a game-changing industrial development that’s beginning to make an impact after nearly a decade of planning.

North America’s largest trimodal inland port and Foreign Trade Zone, CentrePort Canada has 20,000 acres of potential industrial development land that is strategically located at the nexus of international rail and truck corridors.

The past 18 months have seen a serious uptick in activity at CentrePort, with 500,000 sq. ft. of new construction under way and land sales outperforming expectations, according to Hildebrand.

Most notable of the first phase of developments is CentrePort Canada Rail Park, a 665-acre project that combines industrial infrastructure with dedicated access to truck and rail. The site is located south of the Canadian Pacific Railway’s Glenboro sub, CP’s main east-west line across Canada. And it is positioned along the proposed CPKC Corridor, which will connect Mexico, the U.S. and Canada via Dallas and Chicago, with Winnipeg as the line’s northern terminus.

“Finally, Winnipeg is gaining traction as an industrial market after being passed over for too long, and CentrePort Canada is a big reason why,” says CBRE Winnipeg Vice President and Managing Director Paul Kornelsen. “With next to no industrial vacancy in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal, occupiers are looking for opportunities in other cities like Winnipeg. CentrePort Canada has put Manitoba back on everybody’s radar. There are great opportunities here at long last and more developable and serviced land to come.”

Deals flowing

There’s been no shortage of activity at CentrePort in the past two years, with 1.34 million sq. ft. of new industrial space constructed in that time. And 2,000 acres of the 20,000-acre site are slated for development.

Nutrien, a Saskatoon-based fertilizer company, opened a 100,000 sq. ft. distribution centre in BrookPort Business Park last year.

4Tracks Ltd., a local transportation company, broke ground on a $12.5 million dollar expansion in the heart of CentrePort, a 27,000 sq. ft. corporate headquarters and terminal.

Merit Functional Foods opened a 94,000 sq. ft. pea and canola protein processing plant in January 2021.

MMI Asset Management unveiled the first of three multi-tenant industrial buildings in Steele Business Park, a 17-acre industrial park. The first tenant announced is Mercury Specialty Products, which is expanding its presence in Manitoba, occupying 18,000 sq. ft. Built by Concord Projects, these three buildings will bring 220,000 square feet of industrial space to the market.

Construction is underway on Paterson GlobalFoods’ $94-million oat processing facility, O Foods Ltd. The mill will process 125,000 metric tonnes of oats from Western Canadian farmers, with expansion plans to reach 250,000 metric tonnes.

BrookPort Business Park has become home to at least a dozen new companies over the last year, including: Akal Truck & Trailer Centre, Benipal Brothers, Highway King Class 1 Training Centre, Longview Logistics, Natt Enterprises, Pluto Transport, RIG Logistics, Sailors Group, Sandhu Farms, SR Truck & Trailer Repair, TJ Truck & Trailer Wash and Ayr Motor Express.

And Groupe Touchette plans to open a larger facility at CentrePort. The six-acre site on Harvest Drive will house a 100,000-square-foot building with 32-foot-high ceilings.

Manitoba on the map

CentrePort has helped to create new awareness of Manitoba, not only as a viable location for companies to invest in long-term, but possibly an optimal location. “It’s rare that a single development has the ability to capture and service such wide ranging business needs as we’re seeing,” says Kornelsen. “We’re very optimistic we’ll see large global users shift gears and continue to focus on the Winnipeg market.”

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While the pace of industrial development at CentrePort has been furious, Hildebrand points to one potential hurdle: many of the bigger-scale national and global industrial users are seeking spaces 200,000 sq. ft. or larger, which most of the new product being built at CentrePort can’t currently accommodate. “The new product built there has been received extremely well by our market, but we could miss out on landing this global niche of large users.”

It’s still very early days at CentrePort, though, and the momentum shows no signs of slowing, regardless of the project size. “We have developments turning into industrial business parks, causing a chain reaction that leads to development further and further into CentrePort,” Hildebrand says. “We know what the recipe for success is. We just need to make sure we don’t miss out on this additional key area of opportunity so that Winnipeg take its rightful place on the international stage.”

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