Montreal leads Canadian cities in the concentration of aging industrial buildings, with 42% of its nearly 360 million square feet of industrial space built before 1976, according to a new report from Avison Young.

This marks the highest percentage of 50-plus-year-old industrial buildings among major markets nationwide.

Despite this aging inventory, the Greater Montreal Area (GMA) is seeing a wave of redevelopment and new construction. Since 2015, more than 24 million square feet of new industrial space has been added—17 msf since 2020 alone—representing the largest expansion since the 1980s.

Older structures are being replaced or repurposed: Nearly 15 msf of former factories, primarily textiles, have been converted to office lofts since the late 1990s. Another 1.6 msf has been demolished for new residential projects in areas such as Griffintown and Outremont.

Montreal’s older buildings currently have a higher vacancy rate (5.3%) than their counterparts in other markets (under 2%), but as outdated stock is phased out, this gap is expected to close. Avison Young notes that the city’s investment profile is also improving, with a declining risk premium—now just 25 basis points above the national average.