Shindico has formally served notice that it is on the prowl for industrial outdoor storage (IOS) sites across Canada.

Winnipeg-based Shindico issued its notice via email.

“We are interested in existing IOS properties with value-add or redevelopment potential, with a focus on major metropolitan areas near international airports and rail hubs,” said the company. “All opportunities are reviewed promptly and confidentially by our acquisitions team.”

The company is looking to expand its IOS footprint in the asset class after acquiring nine IOS properties assets across Canada from TransX earlier this year. The purchase included two assets in both Toronto and Vancouver, and single properties in Montreal, Calgary, Edmonton, Regina and Winnipeg spanning 372,000 square feet of buildable leasing area altogether.

Alex Akman, Shindico’s chief operating officer, previously told Connect that the company was keen to acquire more IOS assets. But the formal notice indicates that Shindico is now looking to put ink to paper as market conditions improve heading towards year-end 2025 and early 2026.

Akman also told Connect that Shindico regards IOS properties as hidden gems.

“That’s a market that we’ve been studying for some time in the U.S.A, where it is more prominent and prevalent,” said Akman in comments published as part of Connect’s 2025 Canadian Summer Leadership Series. “But as cities continue to require more land for residential, and as folks typically tend to prefer single-family as opposed to dense urban condos, the availability of industrial lands will diminish.\

“Everyone knows that the highest and best use for a piece of land typically isn’t a warehouse. Typically, it’s housing or an apartment or retail or office. So, it’s possible that some of these employment lands end up getting swallowed up for other uses; and at the end of the day, the goods need to be moved, and they’re still going to be moved by semi-truck or train or air. I don’t know that we’re going to have drones buzzing around everywhere delivering seed cans any time soon. So, we’re very interested in that industrial outdoor storage from the perspective of our business strategy, and our business strategy revolves around long-term view and long-term thinking.”

Shindico is also looking to acquire IOS assets in the U.S. at some point in the future, Akman told Connect previously. But the company is not yet ready to complete acquisitions south of the border.

Pictured: Loading dock at Shindico’s newly acquired industrial building in Montreal.

Photo: Courtesy of Shindico