Real Estate & Development Services

Buying industrial real estate from The City of Calgary: 4 things to know

Transit passes. Construction permits. Business licences.

One of these likely comes to mind when you think about things you can purchase from The City of Calgary.

What about land? Not so much. Though not high on all citizen radars, real estate is indeed something you can buy from The City. In fact, The City sells land in all parts of Calgary suitable for residential, retail, office, industrial and mixed use developments.

Industrial land - developing and selling parcels suited for industrial activities such as production, manufacturing, assembly, warehousing, and distribution - is a big focus of The City's real estate business. Here are four things to know about buying industrial real estate from The City.

1. The City sells select industrial real estate holdings to support Calgary's future needs and growth.

Using a self-sustaining source of funding that is not mill rate supported, revenue from the sales of industrial land goes to support investment into future developments and affordable housing.



Municipal land sales, for example, helped pay for the Shepard Wetland. This project constructed infrastructure needed to intercept stormwater flows from over 6,000 hectares of existing and future urban lands draining into the irrigation canal. Completed in 2009, it enabled The City and private land developers to bring serviced industrial lots to market to support business needs in Calgary's southeast.

2. The sale of City-owned industrial land contributes millions of dollars to affordable housing projects.

Through The City's corporate Industrial Land Strategy, revenue from industrial land sales helps build affordable rental housing. As urban planners will tell you, affordable housing is an important social and economic infrastructure component of a healthy city.


The City works with it citizen, non-profit and private sector partners to create affordable housing solutions, such as the Vida. Completed May 2012, it provides 45 homes for working singles, couples, families with children and people with mobility challenges.

3. The City's dedicated real estate sales team expertly guides clients throughout the purchase process, from start to finish.

Like its private sector real estate counterparts, The City works with clients to understand their needs, match them with suitable sites and facilitate purchases. The City also works with purchasers after deals close to navigate City land development processes. While they can't fast-track or guarantee approvals, City real estate experts are a great source of sage guidance which may prove useful for customers eager to move projects forward.

4. The City has a long successful, track record selling land.

The City isn't new to the real estate business. In fact, The City has been servicing and selling its real estate assets for more than 60 years. We've developed more than 5,000 acres and sold to 2,700 businesses employing more than 50,000 people. Big Rock Brewery, Canadian Tire and Home Depot Canada, just to name a few, are City industrial land customers.

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