Ford’s move to Kanata South’s newest development will see the auto company add more than 300 engineering jobs, according to real estate firm Cominar.
On Wednesday the Quebec-based property manager confirmed OBJ’s report last week that Ford Motor Co. is taking 40,000 square feet in Cominar’s 100,000-square-foot project at 800 Palladium Dr. Slated for completion in 2020, the five-storey building is the largest addition yet to Cominar’s Palladium Campus.
Ford already leases 62,700 square feet at nearby 700 Palladium Dr., also a Cominar property. Next door is professional services firm Calian Group, which recently moved out of the Kanata North tech park to take up 35,000 square feet at 770 Palladium Dr.
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Nearly 300 former BlackBerry QNX employees moved into Ford’s centre at 4000 Innovation Dr. when it first opened in 2017. The hires were part of the auto giant’s plan to spend $1.2 billion on its Canadian operations and $337.9 million in Ottawa, focusing locally on the development of autonomous and connected vehicles.
Ford may be moving out of the Kanata North technology park, but Cominar’s vice-president of leasing Marc Shank said in the release that the property owner intends to “contribute to the development of a major technology hub in the Greater Ottawa area.”
“We are confident that this project will be attuned to what the market is looking for in terms of sustainability and innovation,” said Shank.
Cominar’s news release states the other 60,000 square feet of class-A space is still available, including 10,000 square feet of retail space.
