160 hectare industrial park planned for Cambridge

A new 160-hectare industrial parkin Cambridge will be the ideal location for new advanced manufacturing and other technology-based companies, says the president of the Waterloo Region Economic Development Corporation.

TheIP Park Industrial Campus will be located north of Hwy. 401 and east of Hwy. 8 in Cambridge near the border with Kitchener and will be built in three phases over the next decade. It will offerspace forindustrial, supply chain opportunities, auto dealerships, supply-chain opportunities, e-commerce and logistics companies.

The development of the industrial park is a joint venture between IntermarketProperties and Peter Benninger of ColdwellBanker. The twohave been working on the project since 2006.

There is a lack of industrial land in Waterloo region and businesses have moved to other areas because of that, saysIntermarketProperties president MarkKindrachuk.

"The 401 is best for industrial users," Kindrachuk said. "Because of the [land] constraints in the GTA and lack of availability [of industrial land] in Waterloo region, it has taken a long time to bring this size of property to fruition but we think it's timely."

Good for tech companies, advanced manufacturing

An industrial park such as this will mean good things for the region, Tony LaMantia, president of theWaterloo Region Economic Development Corporation, said in a release about the project.

"Waterloo region's traditional industrial tenant base has been heavy manufacturing and the agricultural product sectors. As the region has grown as a tech market, it has evolved to accommodate advanced manufacturing and other technology-based companies," he said.

"IP Park is ideal for these users."

In thestatement, Benningersaid he's "excited to see this initiative coming to the market at such a strategic time that fulfills the needs of the industrial marketplace."

But that excitement is tempered, Kindrachuk says.

The ongoing NAFTAnegotiations with the United States has made investment talk difficult in the short term.

"We're looking forward to that decision," Kindrachuksaid. "Obviously there's a lot of people that hit the pause button because with uncertain times people don't make investments. So we're looking forward to that decision."