New Partnership Promptly Proves Advantage as Major Land Acquisition Closes

Toronto, Ontario, Jan. 28, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Blackwood Partners (Blackwood) and Nicola Wealth Real Estate (NWRE) acquired a 105-acre industrial development site located in the township of King, north of Toronto. The acquisition, which closed January 21, 2021, marks the first co-venture deal by the groups since Nicola Wealth acquired Blackwood Partners, in late 2020. The vision for the property includes the development of 1.7-million square feet of employment-generating space.

The property will accommodate large-scale users who will benefit from the location on the southeast corner of King Road and Jane Street offering convenient access to the Highway 400 interchange.  The GTA North Industrial sub-market is attracting several large tenants; notably, Walmart recently announced its plans for a new distribution centre in Vaughan.  

"This property is well-positioned for a large-scale development with an attractive cost base," explains Blackwood Partners Managing Director, John Hayes, "we see great opportunity in the employment-generating lands. The area is ideal for logistics, distribution, and e-commerce tenants." 

This transaction leveraged the strengths of both sides of the new strategic partnership between Blackwood Partners and Nicola Wealth Real Estate. The project marks the first venture between one of Nicola Wealth's proprietary real estate funds, Nicola Value Add Real Estate LP (NVARE LP)*, and two of Blackwood's institutional clients.

"The commitment by Nicola Wealth's NVARE LP enabled Blackwood Partners to attract two capital partners for this large industrial project," Nicola Wealth Real Estate, Managing Director Mark Hannah confirmed, "we are off to a strong start with our Blackwood partnership and we are optimistic we can continue to leverage this relationship."

NWRE continues to focus its growth in the Greater Toronto Area, with a focus on acquiring income-producing industrial properties and industrial development sites. This strategy is complemented by Blackwood's local development expertise. In October 2020, Blackwood announced they had broken ground on the development of a 1.1 million square-foot Amazon fulfillment centre in Ajax, Ontario. 

To learn more about the Nicola Wealth Real Estate funds, visit realestate.nicolawealth.com

About Blackwood Partners
Blackwood Partners provides real estate investment advisory services, asset management services, and transaction management services to Canadian pension funds, foreign investors, private investors, and both public and private sector companies to assist them in achieving their investment and corporate real estate objectives.

About Nicola Wealth Real Estate
Nicola Wealth Real Estate (NWRE) is the in-house real estate team of Nicola Wealth, a premier Canadian financial planning and investment firm with $9.2 billion (CAD) of assets under management. NWRE has an experienced and innovative team that sources and asset manages a growing portfolio of properties in major markets across North America spanning a diversified range of asset classes which include office, retail, industrial, multi-family residential, self-storage, and seniors housing. With the acquisition of Blackwood Partners, the current real estate portfolio now exceeds $6 billion gross asset value