It was 60 years ago that Keith Beedie started his construction company in Vancouver as a means of feeding his family.

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David Parker, (CALGARY HERALD) — It was 60 years ago that Keith Beedie started his construction company in Vancouver as a means of feeding his family.

The business grew gradually, and today the Beedie Development Group, under the leadership of president Ryan Beedie, is the largest private industrial landlord and developer in Western Canada.

There was no great record keeping of its jobs before the late 1980s, though it has completed well over 20 million square feet of new construction throughout Metro Vancouver and Alberta.

Beedie’s first foray into Alberta was the development of lands in Airdrie where it remains a big player. It has also established a healthy foothold in Calgary and has hired Jorden Dawson to oversee its operations here.

Dawson came to Calgary eight years ago from Edmonton via Toronto, where he worked with 20 Vic. He was with Bentall Kennedy and Mancal here before accepting the new position with Beedie as Director of Industrial Development, responsible for increasing the firm’s presence in Calgary and Alberta.

That work had been the responsibility of Todd Yuen, its Vancouver-based President of Industrial, and Beth Berry, B.C. Director of Industrial Development, who both made frequent visits here along with other members of the industrial and construction team.

It’s time now to have a man on the ground in Calgary.

Beedie’s first area project in Airdrie — on the east side of the highway north of Veterans Boulevard — is where it’s developing the 50-hectare Highland Park Industrial. It’s already home to Costco, TransCanada Turbines, Pivot Data and other businesses.

About 50,000 square feet of industrial space remains to be leased and another 36 hectares is ready for new development.

Highland Park also includes a 10-hectare parcel facing directly onto the QEII that is zoned for high-end light industrial.

Within the Calgary corporate limits Beedie crews have completed the 115 Business Centre near Deerfoot Trail and Country Hills Boulevard where there are only three bays of the two industrial condos left for sale or lease.

Dawson said the southeast section of the city has also been an aggressive target area for new development. Within two months, Beedie will begin construction of a spec 224,000-square-foot building in East Lake on the west side of 52nd Street S.E.

Glenmore Trail Corporate Centre is a development consisting of 108,600 square feet with 12 units in Phase I, and Phase II will offer another 12 units, creating an excellent mix of light industrial/business users.

Nearby is a free-standing, 130,000-square-foot distribution centre it built for Tree of Life, one of the largest distributors of specialty and natural food products in Canada, while Ironside Business Centre is a new 80,000-square-foot industrial bay building in the new Starfield Industrial Park.

And Beedie’s largest building to date is a 235,000-square-foot centre in Frontier Business Park for PTW Energy Services including its 35,000-square-foot Alberta head office that will be ready for occupancy this fall.

Beedie Development Group is very bullish on its Alberta presence and is currently in a high growth mode.

It’s time now to have a man on the ground in Calgary.

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