Horizon North Overview
Horizon North is a north Calgary commercial and industrial node positioned along the Stoney Trail (Ring Road) corridor near the 144th Avenue NE and Country Hills Boulevard NE interchanges. The area serves as one of Calgary's primary northern business park and industrial zones, accommodating a mix of light-to-medium industrial, flex-office-industrial, and business park users attracted by its combination of superior highway access, modern building stock, and proximity to the expanding residential communities of northeast Calgary.
Commercial development in Horizon North has accelerated since the completion of Stoney Trail's northern and northeastern sections, which transformed this previously peripheral location into a strategic logistics and business location. Buildings in the area range from single-tenant owner-user facilities to multi-bay strata industrial complexes, with modern specifications including high clear heights, ESFR sprinklers, and fibre connectivity standard in recent construction. The area competes with the NE Airport Industrial Park and Nose Creek Business Park for north Calgary tenants.
Key Commercial Corridors
The primary commercial spine runs along Country Hills Boulevard NE and the Stoney Trail NE service roads, where modern business park and industrial developments have been built in a planned, campus-style format with landscaped setbacks and coordinated architectural standards. This area presents a professional image for companies requiring client-facing facilities combined with light production or warehousing. Access from Stoney Trail's northbound and southbound ramps provides efficient regional distribution reach, with Deerfoot Trail NE reachable within five minutes for airport access and north-south trucking routes.
A secondary industrial cluster along 144th Avenue NE (Country Hills Boulevard NE extension) accommodates larger-footprint industrial users requiring more expansive truck court configurations and yard areas. These properties typically feature freehold ownership structures and attract owner-occupier businesses in the oilfield services, construction equipment, and heavy trades sectors. Calgary Transit bus service along Country Hills Boulevard NE provides the area with transit access, supporting recruitment of employees from the broader northeast Calgary residential market including Panorama Hills, Country Hills, and Harvest Hills.
Asset Classes
Business Park Office-Industrial
Modern flex buildings with 30–50% office component. 18–28 ft clear, fibre, ESFR. $16–$22/sq ft NNN. Ideal for tech, engineering, oilfield services.
Light Industrial / Flex
Multi-tenant and single-tenant light industrial bays. Grade and dock loading. $13–$19/sq ft NNN. Versatile for manufacturing, distribution, and trades.
Owner-User Industrial
Strata and freehold industrial purchase opportunities. $300–$450/sq ft. Strong owner-user market from growing north Calgary business community.
Industrial Investment
Multi-tenant industrial parks for acquisition. Cap rates 4.8–6.0%. North Calgary industrial vacancy well below Calgary average.
Investment Drivers
Horizon North's investment case is anchored by two structural tailwinds: the continuing residential expansion of northeast Calgary (Cornerstone, Carrington, Evanston, Livingston) and the completion of the Stoney Trail ring road, which has made north Calgary accessible from all quadrants of the city without requiring travel through the congested inner ring. These factors have driven consistent industrial demand growth and rent appreciation in the Horizon North area, with vacancy rates remaining tight despite meaningful new supply additions in recent years.
The area's proximity to Calgary International Airport (approximately 10–15 minutes via Deerfoot Trail) adds logistics value for air-freight-dependent tenants, particularly in the aerospace MRO, pharmaceutical, and perishable goods sectors. As industrial land values in the more established northeast nodes (Foothills, Greenview, Mayland) have risen, Horizon North has emerged as a cost-competitive alternative with modern building specifications that older districts cannot match. Long-term hold investors benefit from strong covenant tenants, modern buildings with low capex requirements, and a rent growth trajectory supported by tightening supply.
Development Pipeline
Active development of business park and industrial product continues along the Stoney Trail NE corridor, with several new multi-bay industrial and flex-industrial projects under construction or in planning. Land prices in the Horizon North area have increased significantly since 2020, narrowing the yield spread between new development and existing assets but sustaining a pipeline of well-capitalized developers willing to build on speculation. Canada's Home Commercial tracks all active projects and can provide tenants and investors with a complete current pipeline summary for the north Calgary industrial market.