Third-party logistics firm Veritiv Corp has launched construction of its new Canadian HQ at 125 Madill Blvd in Mississauga, a 452k SF design-build warehouse-office facility that’ll be one of its largest in North America. Pictured at the recent groundbreaking are Savills Studley Canada founder Stan Krawitz (who brokered the deal); Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie; Veritiv chair/CEO Mary Laschinger and regional VP Jason Alderman; Mississauga Board of Trade president David Wojcik; and Blair Wolk, VP for Orlando Corp, the landowner and developer of the facility.

Stan Krawitz tells us Veritiv—a Fortune 500 company with 950 Canadian employees, a fleet of 115 tractor-trailers and a network of 17 warehouses—is modernizing its facilities nationwide. Its GTA operation was spread across three locations, with leases at Orlando’s 1475 Courtney Park (233k SF) and 6185 McLaughlin Road (184k SF) and an owned facility at 560 Hensall Circle (217k SF). Consolidating at 125 Madill (410k SF warehouse with 36-foot clear ceilings and 42k SF of office) increases operational efficiencies, and puts all of Veritiv’s 350 GTA staff under one roof, “which'll help improve the culture,” says Stan.

The DC should be operational by next summer. Stan, winner of NAIOP’s 2015 Industrial Lease of the Year (he's seen above at centre eyeing the hardware), tells us his team faced tight timelines and “harsh economic realities” to get the deal done. Design-build project rents are typically more expensive than those at an existing building, but Veritiv wanted to see savings from its new HQ. “That created a lot of pressure on us,” and led to a rigorous bidding process with a host of developers before Orlando emerged victorious. The site they proposed was "far and away the best option," says Stan, with future expansion built into the deal.