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

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, which is used for 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.

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.

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 citizens, non-profit and private sector partners to create affordable housing solutions, such as Wildwood. Completed October 2018, this development provides 48 for individuals and families in Calgary living on lower incomes. The development was constructed to Built Green Silver status with sustainability features that reduce energy consumption and operational costs over the lifespan of the building.

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, The City’s real estate experts are a great source of sage guidance for customers eager to move projects forward.

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, are a handful of The City’s industrial land customers.