Concerns about new tariffs imposed by President Trump prompted a Canadian firm to buy a Buffalo warehouse to give it a U.S. foothold. Metebellis Crystal Company is an offshoot from Markham, Ontario that sells replica toy trains to collectors. It acquired a vacant, 14,190-square-foot warehouse at 382 High Street in Buffalo according to brokers on the deal. Metebellis paid $465,000 the building in a deal that closed on April 21. Gurney Becker & Bourne Vice President Bo Gurney said he’s seeing an interest spike from Canadian-based companies.
“I think that's why they're making these calls now. Even the folks that haven't selected a site, at least they're having the conversation to try to understand their options if those options are something they have to deal with, Gurney said.
Still, warehouse and logistics-related space remains in tight supply locally with just a 1.9% vacancy rate on more than 68 million square feet of space, according to CBRE Upstate New York data.
