- What Broccolini has sold a 1m sq ft fulfillment centre it developed in Belleville
- Why The Kirkland, Qué.-based firm completed the facility in 14 months
- What next Demand remains high for industrial properties
Broccolini last month sold a massive fulfillment centre in Belleville, Ont., for $312m – one of the largest industrial deals of 2024, Green Street News can reveal.
The 1m sq ft facility, at 640 College Street East, traded for approximately $297/sq ft. The deal closed on Dec. 16, with Toronto law firm Fasken advising Broccolini on the sale and development aspects. Amazon was the buyer. The property was part of Toro LP, a subsidiary of Broccolini’s eighth opportunistic fund.
The transaction is one of the biggest industrial deals of 2024, behind Prologis’ $361m acquisition of a GTA distribution centre in August, according to Green Street’s Sales Comps Database. The valuation on Prologis’ deal worked out to approximately $270/sq ft.
In 2022, Kirkland, Qué.-based Broccolini entered into a build-to-suit agreement to construct the Belleville facility. Debt for construction was provided by National Bank of Canada, the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and the Bank of Nova Scotia, plus a mezzanine construction loan from Fiera Capital. The building was completed in 2023, 14 months after construction started.
The centre is on 102 acres just south of Highway 401. The facility has two drive-in doors, 106 overhead doors, including dock equipment, and is fitted with a full racking system. There’s a 1 km road to access the facility.
Belleville is 70 km from Kingston, Ont., 180 km from Ottawa and 170 km from Toronto.
Industrial assets saw stronger demand in the second half of last year.
Toronto and Vancouver helped pull the national average asking sale price down by 3.8% last year to $313.95/sq ft, the second consecutive year of annual decreases, CBRE said. However, most markets notched growth in sale prices for the year, helped by Winnipeg and Ottawa, which saw increases of 19.7% and 15.5%, respectively.
Across Canada, there was 24m sq ft of industrial space under construction as of the end of 2024.
