Groupe Montoni has signed logistics and trucking firm Groupe Robert to lease its new, almost-300,000 square foot industrial building at the Centre Corporatif Laval.

The building will be a fully modern distribution centre and is slated to open in July, creating about 40 distribution centre jobs. 

Montoni is targeting both Canada Green Building Council Zero-Carbon Building (ZCB) and LEED v4 C&S Silver certifications for the building, which is diesgnated as Building J at the site. It will be the latest structure to open at Montoni’s Centre Corporatif Laval, which has been under development for several years.

"This agreement demonstrates Québec companies' interest in green buildings,” Groupe Montoni president Dario Montoni said in the announcement. “Sustainability is an essential factor in the growth of local businesses and we are proud to be taking this important step together with Groupe Robert. 

“We will continue to market projects that embody best practices in construction. Ambition by Montoni, our ESG strategy, is the foundation of our approach to tackling the challenges of climate change, one building at a time."

Centre Corporatif Laval is being developed on about 2.4 million square feet of land, and currently contains in excess of 900,000 square feet of leasable space across seven buildings, a Montoni spokesperson told RENX in an exchange of emails. There is room for two more buildings at the centre, and at full build-out it will contain over a million square feet of leasable space.

Groupe Robert and the new facility

The building's location between Boulevard Saint-Martin and Highway 13, on the North Shore of Greater Montreal, will help Robert optimize its network around the Island of Montréal.

"Reducing our supply chain's carbon footprint is a priority at Groupe Robert,” Michel Robert, the president of Groupe Robert, said in the same release. “We plan to continue growing our business while ensuring that respect for the environment remains central to our processes. 

“The choice of this environmentally responsible building is proof of our company's keen focus on sustainability and how we can be an example for our customers."

Groupe Robert was founded in 1946 and has expanded to a nationwide presence in the logistics, distribution, warehousing and transport solutions sector.

It manages more than 40 distribution centres, including over four million square feet of warehouse space in Canada, along with a fleet of more than 1,000 tractors and 3,000 trailers.

Construction of the company's first automated warehouse, with room for 60,000 palettes of fresh and frozen products, is slated for completion in the fall of 2023.

About Groupe Montoni

One of Quebec’s largest and most active developers, Montoni has a portfolio of close to 500 projects representing more than 20 million square feet of industrial, commercial, institutional and residential construction, 30 head offices and another 22 million square feet under development. 

Montoni Group also holds large land portfolios across the Greater Montréal area. 

It offers a full range of services covering development, construction — from excavation to interior design — and property management.

Montoni Group has completed more than 4.2 million square feet of LEED-certified buildings. Among projects under way, it is also targeting LEED certification for close to seven million square feet and net-zero-carbon accreditation for nearly two million square feet.

Among its current developments is Écoparc, a major project in Saint-Bruno. The industrial campus is also targeting two certifications: LEED v4 Gold Core & Shell and ZCB from the Canada Green Building Council. 

Valued at more than $450 million, it is located near Highway 30 and Route 116.