BUILDING ON GROWTH, VISION
Hopewell Development portfolio includes industrial, commercial, residential sites
Industrial real estate continues to thrive in Calgary and region, and one of the busiest and most successful companies continues to be homegrown Hopewell Development.
A division of Hopewell Group of Companies, development is led by CEO Kevin Pshebniski and president Murray Degirolamo, who with their team have grown Hopewell Development into a real estate giant that has built 15 million square feet of industrial buildings across Canada, more than six million of that figure in southern Alberta.
Within the city it completed five buildings in igreat Plains totalling one million square feet. Only 28,000 square feet remains available for lease, and Phil Brown, vice-president of acquisition and leasing/industrial, says he is confident of a signature shortly.
Another in-city development is South Calgary Distribution Centre, on a 38-acre parcel in Great Plains at the corner of 68th Street and 72nd Avenue S.E. A 498,618-square-foot cross-dock facility has been completed, with 36-foot clear ceiling height and ample trailer parking.
Brown says the location is key with direct access to east-west and north-south highways. A second building for the site of more than 300,000 square feet has received a development permit.
One of the fastest growing industrial regions in the country has to be the East Balzac area in the Rocky View County just north of city limits, where Hopewell Development has been a major player for the past 10 years with a total of 230 acres under development with a range of buildings for a wide variety of industrial, distribution and logistics tenants.
Hopewell’s Crosspointe Industrial Park covers 160 acres just minutes from the QEII Highway near the Stoney Trail interchange. The first of two buildings on the park has been completed, offering 425,000 square feet with 36-foot clear ceiling height, 91 dock loading doors and four drive-in doors.
Hopewell Development director of industrial leasing Patricia Cayen reports that through Mike Warner of Cushman Wakefield, she has leased 303,000 square feet to an as-yet confidential tenant, leaving another 222,000 square feet on offer. A development permit has been received for a 200,000-square-foot spec Building 2.
Crosspointe is adjacent to the huge Walmart distribution centre that was built on land it purchased from part of Hopewell’s Balzac inventory.
To the south of Crosspointe on the west side of Dwight Mclennan Trail — putting it closer to Stoney Trail — Hopewell is developing Interlink Logistics Park.
Underground services, grading and storm pond work are underway to allow for a possible construction start on the first spec building next spring.
The park covers 150 acres and will add another 2.3 million square feet for warehousing, distribution and light manufacturing tenants to Hopewell’s extensive industrial portfolio.
The continued top-class offerings by Hopewell Development reflect the hugely successful business that was launched in Calgary by founder and executive chairman Sanders Lee in 1991 with a vision to build a group of companies that would lead their industries and be respected throughout the business world.
Still headquartered in Calgary, the portfolio of his Hopewell Group of Companies — which includes commercial and residential development, home building, property management, strategic planning and capital — has surely achieved that vision.
Notes: Shopping malls have had a tough time during the pandemic but Southcentre Mall, as a gathering place for its local community, has created an opportunity for a new retail concept that will not only attract customers but also support local artisans.
Collab is an inspiration of husband and wife duo Cameron and Jaclyn Daw in response to the effect they saw that COVID-19 was having on local makers. Located in Southcentre’s Centre Court, Collab exclusively features Canadian-made products from across the country, ranging from bath and beauty, ceramics and stationery, to jewelry, home decor and much more.
Opened on Canada Day, it already had 40-plus vendors on board. Dedicated to championing local entrepreneurs, Southcentre supports them with store design and construction, logistics of operating in a shopping centre, marketing and social media, plus coaching on entering a bricks and mortar place.