Fraser Valley’s industrial real estate market is about to get a very big boost. The Omni Company is building what will eventually be the second largest industrial park in British Columbia. The Kingswood Industrial Park in Richmond tops that list. Called the Golden Ears Business Centre, the first building, offering 75,000 square feet of space, just opened. The second, larger building, measuring 110,000 square feet is already under construction and set to open sometime late in the summer of 2011.

The industrial real estate picture has been flat in this area for at least a couple of years. John Middleton, who is a senior manager with Omni, notes that his firm bought up the land about 18 months ago, during this slow period. It was a good move, since their buildings are coming up for lease just as businesses gain confidence in the economy. Landlords are still offering incentives on leases, but as the inventory tightens the price of industrial space will inevitably go up.

More leases are being signed in the Fraser Valley area and the vacancy levels are dropping. In 2009 there were 146 lease transactions valued at $191 million. The following year, 2010, saw 155 transactions for a total of $194 million. These figures are from Citing RealNet Canada, and come with a disclaimer stating that in 2010 the lease activity was affected by a lack of inventory. The report predicted an even better 2011, but had no specific figures.