Ottawa Business Journal Fall 2021

Page 49

to two more buildings of 130,000 and 400,000 square feet. The proposed facilities don’t have tenants yet, but Jager said he’s not worried given eastern Ontario’s growing prominence as an e-commerce distribution hotbed. “We’re firm believers in spec builds,” said. “If you build it, they will come. We believe that the market will be able to absorb (the space) quickly.”

Mero Technologies’ pandemic play KINGSTON — With vaccine uptake allowing more and more businesses to think seriously about reopening their offices, cleanliness is increasingly top-ofmind for employers and employees alike. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Kingston tech company Mero Technologies turned itself into a “full cleanliness platform.” Operating in commercial buildings, hospitals, airports and other facilities, Mero provides peel-and-stick sensors that collect data for commercial cleaners, showing how much stock is left for essential items such as paper towels, toilet paper and soap — reducing the need for workers to physically check the areas. Mero was officially launched in 2019 by Nathan Mah and Cole MacDonald, who joined forces to automate the data-collection process, building a proof of concept with support from Queen’s University.

Ford plans massive car parts hub in Casselman “work, live, play” lifestyle. “You have all that in Casselman,” he said. The Ford distribution centre is located on a 1.5-million-square-foot parcel of land just off Hwy. 417. Jager said the builders are finalizing a deal to buy an additional 1.5 million square feet of nearby property that’s eventually expected to be home

49 OBJ.CA

centre for Ford that’s expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2023. Casselman is about 55 kilometres southeast of Ottawa. Rosefellow cofounder Mike Jager said the automaker was attracted to the site because of its close proximity to major population centres in eastern Ontario and Quebec, its amenities such as restaurants and hotels and its

HAMMOND — Brad Cartier and his business partner, Aaron Markel, have opened Hammond Hill campground, a welcome addition to camping options in eastern Ontario. Their 62-acre property, about 20 minutes from Orleans, opened in August. As much as possible, the partners used materials from the site for construction. They bought a small sawmill to transform the limited number of trees they cut down into fence rails, yurt foundations (the campground has a few rentable yurts) and wood chips for trails. Continued on page 57

FALL 2021

Ford Canada will be the anchor tenant in a new 1.1-million-square-foot industrial hub in Casselman.A pair of Quebecbased firms, Rosefellow and Bertone Development, are partnering on the multiphased development. The project is slated to eventually include three buildings, with work already under way on a $95-million, 531,000-square-foot auto parts distribution

Campground with a beer garden


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