Port of Vancouver buys land for warehousing, distribution

According to the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, the availability of large parcels of industrial land for logistics warehouses and cargo distribution centers is declining at an alarming rate.    The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, which manages the port lands in and around Vancouver, British Columbia, has just purchased 35 acres of land that it intends to use for warehousing and distribution, the port authority revealed Oct. 18.
   The authority, which manages the Port of Vancouver, the third-largest seaport in North America by cargo tonnage after Los Angeles and Long Beach, said in a statement that it purchased three industrial-zoned properties in the British Columbia cities of Richmond and Port Coquitlam in order to “secure trade-enabling land to support future port growth, facilitate Canada’s trade” as well as contribute to the local economy.
   The three properties bought by the port authority are being temporarily designated for continued industrial use pending a formal amendment to the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority’s land use plan, and are expected to continue to be used mostly for warehousing and distribution for the foreseeable future.
   Large parcels of industrial land are needed for logistics warehouses and distribution centers to ensure the efficient movement of goods, but according to the port authority, the availability of such parcels is declining at an alarming rate. And demand for trade-enabling land continues to intensify, the VFPA said, because of a lack of new supply of land, coupled with an ongoing trend toward the conversion of existing industrial land to other uses.
   “Studies show the region is going to run out of trade-enabling land within the next decade,” Vancouver Fraser Port Authority Vice President of Real Estate Tom Corsie said. “Our trade-enabling land strategy includes advocating for industrial land protection, acquiring industrial land to meet the needs of growing Canadian trade and maximizing the use of our existing port lands.”
   The three properties include an 8.48 acre site in Richmond; a 9.46 acre site, also in Richmond; and a 17.65 acre location in Port Coquitlam.
   “Through the purchase of these properties, we are preserving nearly 40 acres of critical trade-enabling land that can be used to facilitate future trade through the Port of Vancouver, grow our economy and support high-paying jobs,” Corsie explained. 
   The port authority says it plans to continue to pursue additional strategic acquisition opportunities as they become available and engage in a regional dialogue to find solutions to land challenges.