Cadillac Fairview Sets Rapid Expansion Pace
Cadillac Fairview Industrial Development Inc. is setting a rapid pace in the competition for a greater share of the growing industrial business park market in North America.
The company has a long-range plan to build 1 million square feet of industrial/research and development space in each of eight markets in the United States and Canada.
One of three wholly owned units of Cadillac Fairview Corp. of Toronto, Canada, the Los Angeles-based company was formed only a year ago and has since done $125 million worth of business in gross rental income, land sales, land acquisition and land development costs, and building construction.
New Regional Offices
Martin Seaton, the firm’s president, formerly in charge of Cadillac Fairview Corp.’s U. S. western region, said that development in the eight targeted American markets would mean an estimated expenditure of about $400 million.
“Our firm has opened new regional offices across the country and has already started major projects in San Diego, Chicago, metropolitan Los Angeles and Toronto, “ he said. A Tampa, Fla., office opens this month, and the company expects to enter an eighth market by July.
Cadillac Fairview Development has its own modus operandi for entering new markets, Seaton explained.
“We first buy one or two small pieces to get our teams in place while we negotiate for the larger projects, generally 100 or more acres in size, and some considerably larger,’ he said.
Seaton referred to Chicago, Los Angeles and New Jersey as the major industrial business park markets, all of which are a focus of Cadillac Fairview’s close scrutiny. But he singled out the Southern California as the top-ranking market.
“I attribute that to a number of reasons--a growing Pacific Rim business, the strong growth potential for the area and benefits derived from the defense industry,” he said.
Coinciding with its first anniversary celebration this month, the firm has purchased a 600-acre business park site in suburban Chicago from the Continental Grain Co.
“It is adjacent to a major regional shopping mall, so we plan to sell about 220 acres for residential and retail development; the balance will be developed by Cadillac Fairview as a business park,” the executive added.
The Chicago office, which opened in 1986, has four buildings under construction, totaling 229,000 square feet in the suburbs of Wooddale and Lincolnshire.
On the West Coast, under the direction of senior vice president Daniel Rosenfeld, a San Diego office was opened in 1986, and it is currently developing the 660-acre Pomerado Business Park in Poway, San Diego County.
Construction will begin this spring on four buildings totaling 240,000 square feet. Agreements for the sale of 20 acres of land are under way at Pomerado.
Rosenfeld said that only 280 acres of the park will be developed, preserving nearly 60% of the parcel as natural open space. “The business environment will be enhanced with recreational facilities, such as sports fields, jogging tracks and an equestrian trail along the park’s perimeter.
In Fontana, the company is purchasing a 240-acre parcel where it will develop a business park and start construction of the first two buildings, totaling 300,000 square feet, later this year.
Rosenfeld said the firm’s three original business parks in the Los Angeles area--the Los Angeles Industrial Center in Compton, Pacific Gateway Center in Torrance, and Orange County Industrial Center are completely built out.
More than 99% of the space is leased in the three parks to such tenants as Sanyo Electric, General Tire & Rubber Co., American Honda Motor, TRW, Ashton-Tate, Mitsubishi Electronics, Toshiba America and Xerox Corp.
In Northern California, the firm is developing the 68-acre Dixon Landing Business Park in Milpitas, and to date has built 390,000 square feet of research-and-development facilities in four buildings fully leased to Sun Microsystems. Another two buildings are to be leased to the same tenant.
