Lowe’s Companies Canada broke ground on a 46.5 acre site that will be the home of its new Canadian national distribution centre located in Milton, Ontario. The provides the company with the space required to support its Canadian growth, and is located just two kilometres north of Highway 401 for easy access to local and national shipping routes.
“The entire team is excited about the continued development of Lowe’s in Canada,” says Alan Huggins, president of Lowe’s Canada. In an interesting confluence of events, the day Lowe’s broke ground was also the day Rona received and rejected a $1.76-billion unsolicited takeover offer from Lowe’s, saying the $14.50 per share proposal from its American rival wouldn’t be in its shareholders’ best interest. Despite the rejection, Lowe’s has stated that it is still interested in buying Canada’s largest home-improvement chain.
Operating a custom-built distribution facility is also part of Lowe’s long term operations strategy. Kylin Developments Inc., partnered with CREIT, will be constructing the $60 million facility in two phases over the next three years, to its ultimate size of nearly 830,000 square feet. When fully developed, the building will measure over 2000 feet long and will contain about 19 acres of building under one roof. Phase One will be ready for spring 2013 occupancy and will encompass over 635,000 square feet, or 14 acres of building, including 19,000 square feet of two-storey office area.
The building has also been designed to meet and exceed the new energy standards and contains an Early Suppression Fast Response sprinkler system with backup generators. The warehouse area will be built with 32 feet of clear ceiling height for racking purposes and when fully developed, will contain 118 trailer doors, complete with heavy duty hydraulic levelers. Outside, the development also incorporates over five acres of secured and controlled access trailer parking. It includes an environmental bio swale area at the rear of the property to protect the adjacent wetlands.