Ontario Construction News staff writer
HOPA Ports and Max Aicher North America (MANA) have signed an agreement to finance the development of Hamilton bayfront property.
HOPA and MANA have been working together since 2020 to find 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 the 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 using the space for commodity storage and logistics, as well as the assembly and staging of the Enwave deep-water cooling pipe.
Under the new agreement, MANA will own the property and the Port Authority will expand long-term investments to attract more high-value industrial activity.
“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.”
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,” said MANA CEO, Walter Sommerer. “Further investment in this site can help provide the space that is needed to support modern manufacturing in Ontario.
“Through our partnership with HOPA, MANA is reinforcing its commitment to Hamilton and the local economy.”
MANA has been named one of Hamilton’s 40 fastest-growing companies and is currently working on the new Gordie Howe bridge linking Windsor and Detroit.