Hungerford Properties of Vancouver has launched its Fairmore Business Park in south central Calgary. The seven-acre site, to be built on spec with space sold rather than leased, will include 168,000 square feet of office, industrial and retail space.
“We are very confident in the Calgary market,” said company partner Michael Hungerford, despite the recent drop in oil prices. “We are long- term investors,” he said.
Two years ago Hungerford bought a 761,000-square-foot old manufacturing plant in southeast Calgary – one of the largest industrial sites in the city – and refurbished it into the Icon Business Park, that is now about half leased.
Industrial-style office space in Calgary sells for around $200 per square foot, comparable to Metro Vancouver.
Hungerford’s commercial condos are aimed at small businesses, and are badly needed in Calgary, according to Susan Thompson, real estate manager for Calgary Economic Development.
“Given that Calgary has the largest concentration of small businesses among Canadian cities with more than 95% of local businesses having fewer than 50 employees, it is critical that there continue to be a supply of spaces for this type of business,” Thompson said.
