Building a new partnership

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This article was published 16/03/2015 (4035 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Two Winnipeg companies have joined forces to acquire and redevelop an office building in southwest Winnipeg and are also interested in purchasing other commercial buildings in the city.

The Ventura Group of Companies and Westland Construction Ltd. have jointly purchased the FWS Group of Companies building at 475 Dovercourt Dr. for an undisclosed sum and plan to move their own offices into the 19,537-square-foot structure later this year.

Ventura official Tim Comack said two of the group’s three operating arms — Ventura Land Company Inc. and Ventura Condo Developments Inc. — will begin moving in this summer. The third — Ventura Custom Homes Ltd. — and Westland will move in next fall, once the renovations are completed.

Comack, vice-president of the company’s land and condo development arms, said although the FWS building is in “pristine” condition, it will have to be renovated to create separate office spaces for each of the two companies.

He said Ventura Group’s operations will occupy about two-thirds of the building, and Westland will have the other third.

The new partners also plan to build a warehouse behind the office building where they can store their equipment and building materials. Comack said it’s too soon to say how much the renovations and the warehouse will cost because the tendering process hasn’t been completed.

He also declined to say how much they paid for the FWS building.

Although Westland has being doing work for Ventura’s condo-development company for about two years, this is the first time the companies have purchased a building together. And it likely won’t be the last.

“We are very interested in finding a way to continue acquiring income-producing assets, and Pete (Westland president Pete Grose) has expressed an interest in doing the same as well,” Comack said in an interview.

He said they’re already actively looking for other properties to buy as a means of further diversifying their operations.

“Our main goal in life is to continue operating the companies we have. But having done this one (deal), our eyes and ears are open… to other investment opportunities,” he said. “If and when the right opportunity comes along… we’re interested.”

Grose confirmed Westland is also interested in buying more properties, although he emphasized it would be a sideline business. Westland’s main focus is its general-contractor business.

Comack said acquiring the FWS building will enable Ventura Group to once again have all of its operations under one roof. He said the land and condo developments had to lease their own space in the downtown about two years ago after running out of room in the Terracon Place building where Ventura Custom Homes is located.

Ventura Group originally planned to lease space in a new office/retail complex that was to be built at 1566 Pembina Hwy. But Comack said it changed its mind after it became clear the rent was going to be higher than was first thought. So the project was scrapped, and the land has since been listed for sale.

Around the same time those plans changed, Comack learned the main contractor for the ill-fated Pembina Highway project — FWS Construction — was planning to sell its building on Dovercourt Drive and move into new space in the Tuxedo Business Park.

“I figured there was a pretty good chance we could make it a win-win opportunity for both parties,” he said.

So he struck a deal to buy the building from FWS. And because it didn’t need the whole building, Ventura asked Westland to become a partner in the transaction.

Westland’s offices are currently in a 16,800-square-foot complex it owns at 1641 Dublin Ave. Grose said another company leases about two-thirds of the building, and Westland will try to find a tenant for its space, as well.

“But if someone came along that had an appetite to purchase it, I would consider (selling) it at the right price,” he said.

A spokesman for FWS Construction said it sold its building because it needed more space for its growing operations.

Carlos Escobar, who is the company’s marketing and communications manager, said FWS has been adding between six to 12 new employees each month for the last 18 months.

“So the move was needed,” he added.

He said FWS has about 200 employees, including about a dozen in each of its satellite offices in Calgary and Vancouver.

 

Know of any newsworthy or interesting trends or developments in the local office, retail or industrial real estate sectors? Let real estate reporter Murray McNeill know at the email address below, or at 204-697-7254.

murray.mcneill@freepress.mb.ca