Orlando’s industrial market has enjoyed consistently low vacancy, robust new development and significant rent growth year after year since the onset of the pandemic. While fundamentals remain strong, project deliveries and changing size preferences for leased space have caused a shift in activity. From an economic perspective, Orlando is well-positioned. The unemployment rate has decreased by 30 basis points since first-quarter 2024, reaching 2.9 percent, notably lower than the national average of 4.3 percent. Over the past year, nonfarm employment has grown by 1.4 percent with construction employment seeing a significant increase of 2.9 percent during the same period. Small to mid-sized spaces For the past 20 consecutive quarters, Orlando has maintained positive net absorption. Small bay and other tenants under 200,000 square feet have dominated leasing activity, while demand for spaces over 200,000 square feet has significantly slowed. As a result, year-to-date absorption is just over 800,000 square feet, representing a 40.8 percent decrease compared to 2023’s midyear total and the lowest midyear total since 2020. This slowdown in absorption is accompanied by a rise in vacancy rates, which have increased by 1 percent since last year and 3 percent since 2022. ATR Commercial Flooring took 150,600 square feet …
IRVING, TEXAS — Southwest Networks Inc. has signed a 12,888-square-foot industrial lease near Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport in Irving. The provider of cable communication services is relocating from nearby Grand Prairie to Las Colinas Distribution Center 5, an 80,900-square-foot building that was originally built in 1981. Maddy Coffman and Canon Shoults of Holt Lunsford Commercial represented the tenant in the lease negotiations. Bradford Commercial Real Estate Services represented the landlord.
NEWNAN, GA. — Colliers has arranged a 10-year, full-building lease at Scout 85 Logistics, a 215,822-square-foot industrial building situated within Coweta Industrial Park in Newnan, a southwest suburb of Atlanta. Andrea Hopper and Jimmy Cohoat of Colliers’ Indianapolis office, along with Scott Plomgren of the firm’s Atlanta office, represented the tenant, Integrated Distribution Services (IDS), in the lease transaction. The landlord is Miami-based Scout Cold Logistics. Situated at 495 Coweta Industrial Parkway, the property offers proximity to the CSX Palmetto Industrial Facility and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport for IDS, a third-party logistics provider.
COLUMBUS, MISS. — Marcus & Millichap has closed the sale of Friendly City Mini Warehouses, a 314-unit self-storage property located on a 3.3-acre site at 7627 Highway 45 N in Columbus. Phase II of the property is currently in lease-up. Matthew Porter of Marcus & Millichap’s Memphis office represented the seller, Peter Imes, in the sale. The buyer and sales price were not disclosed. Mickey Davis, Marcus & Millichap’s broker of record in Mississippi, assisted in closing the transaction. Built in 2022 and expanded earlier this year, Friendly City Mini Warehouses features 163 climate-controlled units and 145 non-climate-controlled units across 47,720 net rentable square feet. The facility, which was 91 percent leased at the time of sale, features 24-hour digital surveillance and gated entry with coded access.
GOODYEAR, ARIZ. — Phoenix-based ViaWest Group has completed the development of a manufacturing and warehouse facility in Goodyear for kitchen appliance manufacturer Sub-Zero Group. Situated on 36.4 acres at 17215 W. Camelback Road, the 599,351-square-foot property features ultra-high-efficiency HVAC units and 34 truck bays. The warehouse is Sub-Zero’s third facility in the West Valley market. Scottsdale Investment Management is the partner on the industrial build-to-suit project. DLR Group served as architect, Kimley-Horn provided engineering services and Willmeng Construction led the building team.
OWENSBORO, KY. — Philip Morris International plans to invest $232 million via one of its Swedish Match affiliates for the expansion of its Owensboro manufacturing facility in western Kentucky. The direct investment into this facility, which produces Zyn nicotine pouches, will increase production capacity by 40 percent (around 900 million cans of capacity for 2025). The expansion is currently underway and is expected to create an additional 450 direct jobs with an ongoing annual economic impact of $277 million, as well as an additional 410 indirect jobs. The Swedish Match Owensboro facility currently has about 1,100 employees. Philip Morris expects to complete the expansion by second-quarter 2025. In July, Philip Morris announced plans to invest $600 million to open a Zyn manufacturing plant in Aurora, Colo.
FORT WORTH, TEXAS — Southwire, a Georgia-based manufacturer of wire and cable used in the transmission and distribution of electricity, has opened its 1.2 million-square-foot distribution and customer service center at AllianceTexas in North Fort Worth. The facility is housed within Alliance Westport 25, which was originally launched as a 1 million-square-foot speculative building in August 2022 and subsequently expanded to meet Southwire’s requirements. At peak operational capacity, about 250 people are expected to be employed at the facility, which will also feature modernized storage solutions and automated material handling. Southwire first committed to Alliance Westport 25 in summer 2023.
JACKSONVILLE, FLA. AND MEMPHIS, TENN. — Faropoint has purchased a 16-building industrial portfolio in two Southeast markets: Jacksonville and Memphis. The Hoboken, N.J.-based firm acquired the 1.7 million-square-foot portfolio from New York-based Brookfield Asset Management for $105 million. Eastdil Secured brokered the off-market transaction. The names and addresses of the assets were not disclosed, but the portfolio comprises 45 suites across four Jacksonville properties and 12 buildings in Memphis.
JACKSONVILLE, FLA. — Merritt Properties has acquired a five-building, single-story office park located at 5022 Gate Parkway in Jacksonville for $19.6 million. Karl Johnston and Traci Jenks of Cushman & Wakefield represented the seller, Boston-based Taurus Investment Group, in the transaction. Formerly known as The Meridian at Deerwood, the newly acquired property has been renamed Merritt at Gate Parkway and is being converted to light industrial use. Plans are already underway to enhance the property by installing drive-in docks and further upgrading the facilities to meet modern industrial standards. Situated within St. Johns Town Center, the 200,328-square-foot park is located directly off J. Turner Butler Boulevard in south Duval County. Space is available beginning at 3,500 square feet. Merritt at Gate Parkway’s existing tenants include DB Structured Products and MMI. Since entering the market in 2021, Merritt Properties’ Jacksonville portfolio now exceeds 500,000 square feet.
MONTGOMERY, TEXAS — Direct Air Flow Distributors has signed a 13,200-square-foot industrial lease in Montgomery, about 55 miles north of Houston. According to LoopNet Inc., the single-tenant building at 18904 Freeport Drive was built in 2012. Travis Land and Braedon Emde of Partners Real Estate represented the landlord, Kudzu Construction & Development, in the lease negotiations. Griffin Rich of Newmark represented the tenant.