A developer is planning an industrial park on a former dairy plant in Miami-Dade County, at least the third announced warehouse project in the past month for an area dealing with persistent single-digit vacancies.
Panattoni Development Co. acquired 20 acres at 3000 NW 123rd St. for $25 million from ZSF/WD Opa Locka and plans to build two warehouses totaling more than 400,000 square feet, according to CBRE and Newmark Knight Frank, the brokerages involved in the sale.
Panattoni will build the development, Gratigny Logistics Park, on speculation, meaning without tenants in place.
Much of South Florida is wedged between the Atlantic Ocean and the Everglades. Despite the land shortage, e-commerce tenants are expanding across the region, leading to development opportunities, Newmark Knight Frank’s Nick Wigoda said in a statement. In many cases, builders are tearing down dated shopping centers and other commercial projects to make way for the new industrial construction.
Miami-Dade's industrial vacancy rate inched higher in the past year but still remains near 4%, close to the five-year average of 4.1%, according to the latest report from CoStar Market Analytics.
That report also noted Amazon signed a five-year lease in July for 175,000 square feet in the Miami Airport East submarket, making it the county’s third-largest lease and bringing the retailer’s Miami footprint to near 1.5 million square feet.
The renegotiation of U.S. trade agreements and the $5.5 billion expansion of the Panama Canal in 2016 likely will mean continued strong demand for Miami-Dade's industrial market, according to CoStar analysis.
“There is much uncertainty surrounding the outcome of trade negotiations, but the expansion of the Panama Canal is a very positive development that has made Miami significantly more attractive as a trade transit hub for Asian and European trade flow,” the report reads.
Two other projects announced recently in the county are Bridge Development Partners' 1 million-square-foot warehouse development in the Miami suburb of Hialeah, and Foundry Commercial's 320,000-square-foot project in neighboring Hialeah Gardens.
Panattoni of Newport Beach, California, is expected to break ground on Gratigny Logistics Park early next year and complete construction by the third quarter. The company is finishing an 800,000-square-foot business park just east of Gratigny at Northwest 24th Avenue and Northwest 119th Street.
For the Record
Newmark Knight Frank’s Wigoda and Steve Medwin represented Panattoni Development, while CBRE's Christian Lee, Chris Riley and José Lobón represented the seller.
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