Kubota Canada Limited, Red Crest Developments, and The Behar Group are set to create around a million square feet of warehouse, office, and hotel space to form the backbone of the new Pickering Innovation Corridor, located along Highway 407 east of Toronto.
The Seaton Lands in Pickering. Areas marked for employment are shown in blue, generally lining Highway 407. (Courtesy Infrastructure Ontario)
Kubota represents the largest investment so far, having signed an agreement to develop 565,000 square feet of industrial and commercial space as part of the first phase at the site. The company plans to relocate its operations from its current Markham facility to the Pickering location once it’s finished in 2019.
The City of Pickering announced these agreements on Friday afternoon, although Kubota had also released a statement on Thursday.
The city views the Pickering Innovation Centre as a key driver for future job creation and economic growth along Highway 407 in Durham Region. It sits right next to the Seaton Community, which is anticipated to accommodate up to 70,000 residents when fully developed.
Kubota will construct a facility spanning 500,000 square feet along with an additional 65,000 square feet designated for its head office during this first phase. This modern facility will include improved testing and training capabilities while enhancing warehousing and logistics for the company. Kubota has acquired 50 acres at this site and may expand its campus beyond one million square feet in future phases.
The company noted that the land and buildings represent a $67-million investment.
“It had become obvious that we needed a new state-of-the-art facility to ensure we could live up to our commitments to meet the increasing needs of our growing customer base,” said Bob Hickey, president of Kubota Canada, in a prepared statement.
The company has been operating out of its current Markham location since 1975 and manufactures various products including tractors and heavy equipment; construction tools; landscaping gear; residential lawn equipment; commercial turf products; and utility vehicles.
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Red Crest Plans Office Buildings
Red Crest Developments will also construct two adjacent office buildings totaling nearly 300,000 square feet available for lease by small or large businesses alike. These office towers will be strategically positioned for easy access to Markham’s high-tech sector as well as Durham Region’s EN3 super-cluster focused on Energy, Environmental issues, and Engineering companies. The Behar Group is set to build a four-star hotel along with a convention center. This convention center will span 30,000 square feet and host industry conventions, trade shows, corporate meetings, weddings, and social gatherings. The Pickering Innovation Corridor comprises 800 acres within the Seaton community located along Highway 407 between York-Durham Townline Road and Brock Road. The City of Pickering purchased this land from the Province of Ontario with plans to actively market it for economic development opportunities.Pickering’s Forward-Thinking Strategy
“The City of Pickering’s bold and innovative approach of purchasing and managing a portion of these provincial lands was instrumental in signing the Innovation Corridor’s first anchor tenants. It demonstrates that we’re hungry and are willing to do what it takes to earn your business,” said mayor Dave Ryan in a release. “More importantly, these initial investments will kick-start immense commercial and industrial growth along Highway 407 which will create thousands of new jobs while strengthening both Pickering’s economy as well as Durham’s over the next twenty years.” As an entry point into East GTA, Pickering (population: 94,000) is ideally situated where Toronto meets York Region as well as Durham Region. Seaton is envisioned as a new community within Central Pickering aimed at attracting approximately 30,000 new jobs alongside housing for about 60,000 residents by 2031. The city emphasizes that new businesses can look forward to direct access from major highways; an educated workforce; modern infrastructure; plus numerous emerging greenfield employment sites lining Highway 407. Both the Innovation Corridor and Seaton Community are positioned within what used to be known as the North Pickering Land Assembly-originally expropriated by provincial authorities back in the ’70s intended for creating a major community catering to what was planned-a federal airport which never materialized either.Source link
