Image courtesy Oxford Properties
Oxford Properties Group has broken ground on one of Canada’s first large-scale, multi-level industrial projects at the Riverbend Business Park in Burnaby, B.C.
The site of a former paperboard milling operation, Oxford has transformed the brownfield site into a progressive and environmental award-winning, master-planned business park. Oxford first announced in November 2019 its intention to construct the project on a speculative basis and, after receiving all required municipal approvals, the building has now broken ground with anticipated completion in Q4 2022.
The development will be on two levels. The ground floor comprises 40,599 m2 (437,000 sf) with 10-m (32-ft) clear heights. The second storey, which is accessible to full-size transport trailers via a heated ramp, consists of 25,084 m2 (270,000 sf), 8.5-m (28-ft) clear heights, and a (130-ft) truck court with dock loading doors. When complete, the building at Riverbend Business Park can provide a single customer 65,682 m2 (707,000 sf) of contiguous space, making it the largest available industrial property in the Greater Vancouver Area. Located close to the intersection of Marine Way and Highway 91A, it is suitable for attracting labour and can serve a population of 1.4 million within a 30-minute drive.
“The pandemic has accelerated the penetration of e-commerce into our daily lives and will put additional demand for infrastructure such as logistics space to service the growing digital economy,” said Jeff Miller, head of industrial at Oxford Properties. “With Vancouver being one of the tightest and most land-constrained industrial markets in the world, this requires bold solutions. We have learned from some of the most innovative industrial projects from across the globe to execute on our plan to develop Canada’s first multi-level industrial property. Given its proximity to the urban areas of Greater Vancouver, the development provides excellent infrastructure for last-mile delivery as consumers come to increasingly expect next-day and even same-day delivery.”
The start of construction marks a highpoint for the transformation of the Riverbend Business Park. Purchased by Oxford in 2011, the 26-ha (65-acre) site was home to a former paperboard milling operation and a 6-ha (14-acre) landfill. Over 300,000 m3 (10.6 million cf) of waste and debris was removed from the site and converted back into developable land.
