Airport development takes off

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DAVID LIPNOWSKI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Leasing signs dot the landscape around the international airport.

It probably shouldn't come as a surprise people and businesses want to be close to the biggest-ever capital project in Manitoba's history.

As construction of the new $585-million terminal building at the Richardson International Airport inches closer to completion, real estate in the area suddenly has a lot in common with the prettiest girl or handsomest boy at the dance. Realtor signs offering land to buy or lease have sprung up like spring flowers, particularly on the east side of the airport, and land values are taking off.

Jim Kulik, a broker at Colliers Pratt McGarry, said land at and around the airport is the "most desirable" in town for industrial and commercial uses.

"There are a lot of positive things going on. The one thing for certain about the St. James area around the airport is land values are increasing exponentially," he said.

Kulik said while interest in the airport area is on the rise, especially among transportation and logistics companies, only those that can afford it will move in. "It's expensive. You have to have a reason for being there, like a courier that needs access to the airport all the time," he said.

Emily Burt, vice-president of marketing and communications at Cardinal Capital Management, said the Winnipeg-based investment management firm is locked in to the area for the long term with a new seven-year lease.

It recently spent $250,000 to overhaul the fourth floor at the Airport Executive Centre at 1780 Wellington Ave. and expand its space to nearly 9,000 square feet, more than quadruple what it had when the company was launched in the mid-'90s.

"It's not just a warehouse neighbourhood anymore," she said.

Burt said she has been watching the new terminal building rise out of the ground for months from her office window, and hopes it's the start of a new era.

"It's going to make the area a lot nicer looking. So much of Winnipeg needs an upgrade. Maybe with the new terminal building, more money will go into this neighbourhood to upgrade the buildings that are here now and bring more businesses to the area," she said.

Cardinal's expansion has pushed down the vacancy rate in the building to 14 per cent. Karen Lund, general manager of Morguard Investments Ltd., which manages the Airport Executive Centre, said it has been a "struggle" to find and keep tenants for the five-storey building since it was built 21 years ago.

"Now we're starting to see some action on it," she said.

Lund said she's optimistic occupancy will soon be on the rise.

"Some deals are currently under negotiation for part of the empty space," she said.

There's no question in the mind of Barry Rempel, president and CEO of the Winnipeg Airports Authority, that excitement surrounding the new terminal building and related activity, including the new facilities for Canada Post, Greyhound Canada and Standard Aero, has sparked a lot of interest in the area. Rempel said the WAA is talking to groups that want to add customer service enhancements, such as a gas station where people could fill up the tanks of their rental vehicles, and handling enquiries from out-of-town companies wanting to establish regional offices near the airport so their people could fly in for meetings and not have to drive all over the city.

geoff.kirbyson@freepress.mb.ca

Happy times ahead for Winnipeg's CentrePort Canada

THE president and CEO of CentrePort Canada Inc. is confident the growing popularity of land around the Richardson International Airport has some legs -- at least a half-century's worth.

Diane Gray, who heads up the corporation created by the province two years ago to turn 8,000 hectares of land around the airport into a hub for the manufacturing, distribution and warehousing of goods in North America, said investment interest is strong, and servicing the land is the only thing holding it back. "We'll have some announcements over the next couple of months about companies that are building or will start building this summer. As we get a firm date on servicing the land from the city, that will allow a number of other developments to really take off," she said.

She said CentrePort's goal of developing the entire parcel of land truly is a long-term project. CentrePort's future was further cemented in Tuesday's provincial budget as it was a key part of the Selinger government's financial plan.

"I think you'll see the entire footprint built out in 50 years. We needed 20,000 acres (8,000 hectares) because we didn't want to have a 10-year or 20-year inland port development. We were building something with space available for growth in the future as well," she said.

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition March 29, 2010 B1