Today's News

Amazon signs long-term lease at Vancouver's Riverbend Business Park, Oxford Properties Group completes successful leasing of 1.35 million sq ft campus

Vancouver, BC, April 8, 2022--(T-Net)--Oxford Properties Group, a leading real estate investor, asset manager and business builder, announced this week that its Riverbend Business Park campus is now fully-leased with the signing of a long term lease deal with e-commerce giant Amazon.

The lease brings development of the 1.35 million square foot master planned business park (in the Burnaby, BC area) to a successful completion.

Amazon has signed to occupy Riverbend's entire 707,000 square foot multi-storey building—Canada's first multi-level logistics facility.

Formerly an abandoned paperboard milling operation and landfill, Oxford has transformed Riverbend from a brownfield site into a progressive and environmental award-winning business campus.

The last of the site's six buildings to be constructed—having broken ground in late 2019—Amazon will commence operations at the multi-storey upon its completion in Q4 2022.

"Vancouver is one of the tightest and most land-constrained industrial markets in the world, so we knew bold solutions were required to deliver the type of footprint demanded by the growing digital economy," said Jeff Miller, Head of Industrial at Oxford Properties. "Backed by the strength of our conviction and a world-class team, we delivered not only Canada's first multi-level industrial property, but the largest speculative building ever constructed in Greater Vancouver. Completing Riverbend's leasing by signing one of the most innovative companies in the world validates our bold initial vision, while promising major economic and consumer benefits as last-mile delivery capacity is significantly strengthened for the region."

Purchased by Oxford in 2011, the 65-acre Riverbend site was home to a former paperboard milling operation and a 14-acre landfill. Over 300,000 cubic metres of waste and debris was removed from the site and converted back into developable land.

Additionally, Oxford has implemented several initiatives to restore the shoreline of the adjacent Fraser River and help protect its native species. Invasive and non-native plant species were removed, improvements made to fish habitats and shoreline erosion protection measures installed.

Comprised of six cutting-edge, fully leased buildings, Riverbend is home to a dynamic group of innovative companies serving BC's lower mainland and beyond, including Mercedes and Volvo fuel-cell joint venture cellcentric, Article, Canada Post and now Amazon.

Pioneering sustainable design, the buildings at Riverbend are LEED Certified and the redevelopment of the brownfield site earned it the 2019 City of Burnaby Environmental Award. The business park features walking trails, end-of-trip facilities and an amenity pier that overlooks the Fraser River.

About Oxford Properties Group

We are active investors, asset managers and builders of businesses. Oxford and our platform companies manage over $80 billion of assets across four continents, in some of the world's most transformative places. Our competitive advantage is in combining global platforms and expertise with local trends and experience to create exceptional experiences and value.