HOPA Ports signs head lease to develop Hamilton’s working waterfront

(Posted on 13/12/22)

HOPA Ports and Max Aicher North America (MANA) have announce the completion of a head lease which will permit more extensive investment and development on MANA’s Hamilton bayfront property.

As an integrated port network, the Hamilton Oshawa Port Authority (HOPA Ports) offers port and marine assets on the Great Lakes. The ports handle a wide variety of dry bulk materials, with extensive outdoor and indoor storage options, and multimodal transportation connections, as well as facilities for handling breakbulk, heavy lift, liquid bulk and other cargoes.

HOPA and MANA have been working together since 2020 on various industrial uses for a 60-acre parcel at Pier 18 on Hamilton Harbour. The site is located in the northeast corner of pier 18, within Hamilton’s Bayfront industrial area, and is served by marine, rail and road transportation. The property includes open space for outdoor storage, and more than eight acres of warehouse buildings.

HOPA has been deploying the space for a range of industrial projects, including commodity storage and logistics, as well as the assembly and staging of a deep-water cooling pipe.

Under the new agreement, MANA continues to retain ownership of the property, while HOPA’s new head lease will enable the Port Authority, via its subsidiary, to expand the necessary long-term investments to attract more high-value industrial activity. Specific investments will be driven by user requirements, and HOPA sees the site’s multimodal assets as being key to its value. “Modern industrial users are looking for space with access to multiple modes of transportation, within the Greater Toronto-Hamilton market,” said Ian Hamilton, President & CEO of HOPA Ports. “It’s a magic combination that is extremely rare in southern Ontario, and we’re lucky to have it here in Hamilton, ready to go.”

HOPA Ports has an established track record of developing marine-served industrial spaces. It is a segment of the commercial-industrial real estate market where HOPA Ports offers a distinct skill-set. Over the past decade, HOPA Ports has attracted more than $350 million in investment in the ports of Hamilton and Oshawa.

Uses of the site include flexible storage of steel and manufacturing components, warehousing and rail transloading of materials for the construction and manufacturing sectors, value-add processing, and other logistics uses essential to a responsive industrial supply chain. “Further investment in this site can help provide the space that is needed to support modern manufacturing in Ontario,” said MANA CEO, Walter Sommerer. “Through our partnership with HOPA, MANA is reinforcing its commitment to Hamilton and the local economy.”

This alliance between MANA and HOPA complements MANA’s existing Hamilton operations, where the company produces specialized, high-strength reinforcement steel used in high-rise, commercial and industrial projects across North America. Among its high-profile projects is the new Gordie Howe bridge linking Windsor and Detroit. MANA has been named one of Hamilton’s 40 fastest-growing companies.