An Asian grocery chain based in Western Canada sought to expand with a new store in Calgary last year when it set its sights on a location near the intersection of a pair of major thoroughfares.
The chain wanted to open a new grocery outlet within a 90,000-square-foot industrial structure owned by Crossroads Furniture. The warehouse at 222 16th Ave. NE sits near the busy intersection of Barlow Trail NE and Trans Canada Highway. However, the purchase hit a snag at check-out, as the property was located in an area that allowed for food stores of only up to 5,000 square feet, according to a municipal bylaw passed in 1996. The warehouse measures about 18 times that size.
Instead of shelving the grocery project, the chain enlisted Kathy Oberg, an urban planning specialist and managing partner at Calgary-based B&A Planning Group. Oberg and her team sold Calgary city officials on the value of having a grocery store in the Mayland Heights area, noting that such a retail outlet would provide consumers with an additional shopping option and bring jobs and revitalization to the area.
Such efforts are not always easy, as locals with knowledge of such procedures noted.
“These challenges are frequently underestimated,” said Michael Anderson, senior vice president of leasing and development for Centron Group, adding that the effort required “extensive interaction with the city of Calgary.”
The project has been selected as the winner of the 2024 CoStar Impact Award for sale of the year, as judged by a local team of real estate professionals familiar with the market.
About the Project: The city eventually agreed to change the bylaw and the grocery chain purchased the industrial property from Crossroads Furniture for $17.075 million. It has since embarked on a project to renovate the structure for its groceries.
What the Judges Said: “Good repurpose of an existing site. The new facility will be a welcome addition to the community. Team seems to be moving through the approval process well,” said Angela DeCaria, senior sales agent, real estate sales for the city of Calgary.
They Made it Happen: Marshall Toner, executive vice president and managing director for industrial at JLL, acted in the role of seller representative while Jaison Thomas, commercial Realtor at CIR Realty, represented the buyer. Kathy Oberg, an urban planning specialist and managing partner at Calgary-based B&A Planning Group, led the effort to amend the bylaw allowing for a larger grocery store at the site.