One of the largest building projects in Abbotsford’s history is set to create a massive new industrial facility off of Clearbrook Road that will employ hundreds.
Mayne Coatings – a manufacturer of aluminum siding products for commercial and residential buildings – plans to build two buildings (one pegged at around 350,000 square feet) and move its operations to land just south of Highway 1. The plant will have three times more floor space than the Tradex exhibition facility near Abbotsford Airport and is expected to employ as many as 300 workers.
Darren Braun, the city’s director of development planning, told council that the building would be the fourth or fifth largest in the city and was the largest industrial project Abbotsford has seen in recent memory.
Mayne Coatings is currently based out of a smaller building in the Gloucester Estates Industrial Park in Langley, but bordering Abbotsford. The company did not wish to speak to The News, but a letter to the city says the facility is being built with an eye to future growth and may accommodate other tenants until Mayne requires use of the full facility.
The company has asked the city to be able to provide fewer parking spaces than otherwise permitted through Abbotsford’s zoning bylaw. That request, which is supported by city staff, was moved along to a public hearing set for June 12.
Braun said staff didn’t contemplate “megabuildings” when creating the currently bylaws, which tie parking spaces to a building’s square footage. The company says it will employ a maximum of 150 staff per shift, so the required 427 parking stalls aren’t needed. Instead, the facility, as proposed, would have just over 300 parking spaces.
The building will be three storeys tall, except for a small section that will be 30 feet taller than the rest of the facility. That section will accommodate a “programmable industrial crane” used to sort and stack materials.
In addition to the manufacturing space, the two buildings will each include offices for staff. The main facade and office area will be located along Clearbrook Road.
As part of the project, the city is selling Mayne a portion of land it owns just north of the facility that will be used for parking.
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tolsen@abbynews.com
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