CONTACT US
Share: Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on LinkedIn I recommend visiting cushmanwakefield.com to read:%0A%0A {0} %0A%0A {1}
Big Box (imagE) Big Box (image)

Stories

The Big Box

Zoning Change Opens the Door for Children's Recreational Center in Calgary
 

01 The Opportunity

Our client, The Big Box, was seeking 30,000 to 60,000 square feet (sf) to house a children's recreational indoor play facility. They had three key building requirements: minimum of 28' clearance; zoned industrial commercial to allow for recreational use; and, exposure to major roads with parking to accommodate over 100 vehicles.
big box team (imAGe)

"Cushman & Wakefield did a fantastic job of providing us with market intelligence to help us make an informed decision. The negotiation process was well managed to ensure we obtained all necessities to run our business. We appreciate their help and commitment in assisting us with opening the largest indoor children’s recreational center in Calgary, Canada."

- Owner

02 The Solution

The requirements created a unique challenge due to Calgary's limited supply of recreational commercial zoned buildings with 28' clear ceilings and exposure to major thoroughfares.

First, we examined the Calgary Airport Authority lands as this would have been the path to least restrictions. However, the airport lands did not give adequate exposure for the business and had increased competition due to a saturation of recreational indoor play facilities in the area. This left us reviewing commercial properties zoned I-C or discretionary use I-G zoned buildings.

In 2016, the City of Calgary made I-G zoning very difficult for indoor play recreational users to occupy space and strictly enforced occupancy and permitted use. Prior to 2016, the City permitted recreational users to operate as an instructional facility under a discretionary use within I-G. While the tenant could have sourced an I-C zoned property it would have resulted in higher associated rental costs.

After a year of reviewing options, we were able to find the ideal building located on 64th Avenue and Deerfoot Trail. The building is unique as it is fronting 64th Avenue and across from a major redevelopment, Calgary's Deerfoot City Mall. The property also has a neighboring Impark lot and a large area in the rear to create 40 parking stalls with another 35 available at the front. Although this building was the ideal location and solution for our client, the zoning restrictions on the area created a problem, as the building was Industrial General (I-G) zoned.

To hopefully overcome this hurdle, we commenced discussions with the landlord regarding the land's change of use. Unfortunately, at that time the landlord wasn’t receptive to start the process. After almost eight months of searching for alternate solutions, the 64th Avenue location still sat vacant. We approached the landlord again and were able to assist in commencing the change of land use process.

Within three months we successfully had the building rezoned and the use was accepted immediately under Direct Control-Recreational by the City of Calgary.

03 The Results

The landlord was able to fill the 55,325 SF vacancy, which had remained vacant for over a year. Our client was able to obtain a fair market deal with great incentives to assist with start-up expenditures. Calgary opened the largest children's recreational center featuring a 20,000-sf indoor playground, 8,000-sf inflatable bouncing castle, 8,500-sf aerial rope course, virtual reality room, and bumper cars.
MII Year End_GWS Assets_Web Card_750x456.jpg
Article

Midwest Industrial Insiders: 2024 Year-End Insights

The Midwest industrial market is set for an exciting future, with tightening conditions and rising rental rates shaping the landscape for 2025 and beyond.
Gregory Rogalla • 12/13/2024
Industrial image
Research

Central Region Industrial Labor Report

The Central Region continues to garner national attention due to the surge in manufacturing investment activity seen over the past few years, despite normalizing industrial demand nationally.
Maggie Tillotson • 9/11/2024
New Jersey Industrial Labor Report Generic Card 3.jpg
Article

Northeast Industrial Labor Report

The Northeast Industrial labor report breaks down current trends in the industrial labor and real estate market. Although market conditions have eased recently, the industrial labor market in the Northeast is poised for continued growth in the demand and cost of this workforce.  
John Obeid • 6/13/2024

Meet the Team

Michael Warner Calgary
Mike Warner

Executive Vice President, Industrial
Calgary, Canada


Download VCard

Kevin Tang Calgary
Kevin Tang

Associate Vice President, Industrial
Calgary, Canada


Download VCard

David Reich Calgary
David Reich

Vice President, Industrial
Calgary, Canada


Download VCard

FEATURED SERVICE

Tenant Representation
Site selection and lease negotiations for occupiers of office, retail and industrial based on workplace and logistics strategies.
Learn More

HOW CAN WE HELP?

Call us today or schedule a meeting to discuss what’s next.
With your permission we and our partners would like to use cookies in order to access and record information and process personal data, such as unique identifiers and standard information sent by a device to ensure our website performs as expected, to develop and improve our products, and for advertising and insight purposes.

Alternatively click on More Options and select your preferences before providing or refusing consent. Some processing of your personal data may not require your consent, but you have a right to object to such processing.

You can change your preferences at any time by returning to this site or clicking on Privacy & Cookies.
MORE OPTIONS
AGREE AND CLOSE
These cookies ensure that our website performs as expected,for example website traffic load is balanced across our servers to prevent our website from crashing during particularly high usage.
These cookies allow our website to remember choices you make (such as your user name, language or the region you are in) and provide enhanced features. These cookies do not gather any information about you that could be used for advertising or remember where you have been on the internet.
These cookies allow us to work with our marketing partners to understand which ads or links you have clicked on before arriving on our website or to help us make our advertising more relevant to you.
Agree All
Reject All
SAVE SETTINGS