Owner of the Van Houtte brand, the Keurig Dr Pepper Canada company concentrates the storage activities for its coffee products in Beauharnois, in Montérégie.
The MRC of Beauharnois-Salaberry is thus positioned as the coffee hub in the east of the country.
Keurig has just concluded a long-term lease with OleaDev Real Estate Group in Beauharnois for a total area of 56,000 square meters (602,000 square feet).
This is one of the largest industrial rental transactions in Quebec this year.
The developer OleaDev had Frare & Gallant build the largest industrial building without a prior rental agreement in Quebec. In commercial real estate jargon, this is called speculative construction.
The Press reported on this audacious bet in its July 10 issue.
Keurig leases the entire 39,000 m2 building2 (422,000 ft2) with ceilings of 12 meters (40 feet), high enough to store six pallets. The occupant takes possession immediately, gradually.
As for phase 2 of 17,000 m2 (181,000 ft2) to be built, the tenant is aiming for occupancy in 2024. OleaDev had acquired the land next to its main building from Hydro-Québec for this purpose. Hydro operates a large run-of-river power plant nearby.
This distribution center will allow us to better serve our customers, optimize our operations and reduce our carbon footprint.
Olivier Lemire, president of Keurig Dr Pepper Canada, by email
The asset will be operated by a third party. Around a hundred people will work there. The equipment replaces existing warehouses in Quebec and gradually that of Brampton, Ontario, according to KDP Canada.
“KDP Canada’s interest in this new modern facility, one of the largest of its kind in Quebec, demonstrates the economic strength of the industrial market in the region and in Quebec as a whole,” rejoices Terry Tsatas, president of OleaDev Real Estate Group.
For Beauharnois, this is a new prestigious catch. Since the city of 14,000 inhabitants got its hands on Hydro-Québec land at a cost of 30 million in 2012 with a view to developing a new industrial park along Highway 30, it has been able to attract she IKEA, Google and Hart stores.
By acquiring these lots, Beauharnois’ strategy was to resell them to industrial occupants with the aim of increasing the land base and tax revenues. The additional inflows of money must be used to pay the bill for the rejuvenation of municipal infrastructure which has reached the end of its useful life.
“Beauharnois is a dynamic city and industrial development is a lever for development for us,” says mayor Alain Dubuc (no relation to our journalist). The location of the industrial park is strategic for companies wishing to be at the heart of the Quebec–Ontario–United States trade corridors. » The magistrate obviously welcomes the newcomer with open arms.
“Green coffee loop”
In the neighboring town of Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Brett Fleming’s company GBH Depot has become the specialist in handling green coffee beans, to the point that almost half of the coffee consumed in Canada first passes through its facilities in this area. municipality. The company’s clients include Keurig and Tim Hortons, for which it delivers six trucks per day to its roasting plant in Ancaster, Ontario.
In other words, the green Van Houtte coffee bean will first pass through Salaberry-de-Valleyfield before going to the Keurig roasting plants, located in the Saint-Michel district of Montreal, before returning to Beauharnois. before shipping to end users.
“This new route will allow KDP Canada to optimize transportation by creating a loop of green coffee, roasting, finished products [au sein même de la région métropolitaine de Montréal]to reduce unnecessary shipments to Ontario by thus avoiding bringing finished products from Ontario to Quebec and Eastern Canada,” explains KDP Canada.