The Next Industrial Hot Spots: Hamilton & Beyond

Colliers Talks

Zentil Property Management is a community builder that has been servicing the Greater Toronto Area for 50 years. Zentil’s services span across various sectors including industrial, commercial, residential, institutional, and leisure. The privately owned real estate development company also guided clients through their projects’ designing, planning and implementation stages. Zentil has been acquiring real estate in the GTA and has recently made several large investments in the Hamilton market, with a vision to “search for value.”

In this episode of Colliers Talks, Bryan Faldowski and Jens Zentil, Vice President of Zentil Property Management, discuss the evolution of Hamilton and the GTA and provide insights on what’s happening in the industrial market.

Jens says: “Two years ago, I started to hear inklings that rental rates were creeping up in secondary markets, one of them being Hamilton. We thought, if there isn't a corresponding increase in land prices, at least at the time, why not try to enter there and get that value from buying land cheaper and getting that upside in terms of higher rental rates?”

Zentil’s strategy to find value is to invest in small bay industrial versus larger buildings. Doing so allows for more variety in submarkets (with smaller sites) and does away with the “capital intensity” required to acquire larger buildings. Zentil has a focus on accommodating smaller businesses, which are “the rock of Ontario and the Canadian economy,” says Jens.

Hear all about:

• Zentil’s recent investments in Hamilton’s industrial real estate landscape

• How the current economic situation is impacting developers

• The “why” factor of investing in small bay industrial

• Construction setbacks due to the pandemic

• Predictions about the industrial market over the next 3 to 5 years amidst recession fears

Listen to get valuable insights on industrial commercial real estate and Zentil’s take on up-and-coming industrial hot spots.