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South Florida’s industrial sector has retreated from roaring pandemic-era activity, but a burst of year-end transactions signal that investors continue to see opportunities in the region.

Buyers spent $215M across three transactions in Miami during the last two weeks of 2023, capping off a fourth quarter that also saw the year’s largest portfolio deal. The flurry of sales came as rents continued to tick upward despite a wave of new deliveries and a steep decline in annual leasing activity.

The market is returning to a pre-pandemic pace of activity, brokers say, but tight supply dynamics still favor landlords as migration trends continue to boost demand.

“We were kind of on a sugar high with the amount of activity that was going on” in 2021 and 2022, said Christopher Thomson, vice chair at Cushman & Wakefield. “It was almost double what normal activity is, but what I am seeing today is a consistent market of tenants that are looking at spaces.”

Miami-Dade County closed 2023 with 7.8M SF of annual leasing activity, a 21.6% decline from the prior year, according to preliminary data from Cushman & Wakefield. As leasing slowed, the region also saw 3M SF of new inventory come online and a further 7M SF under construction.

Rental rates continued their upward climb in Q4 despite the influx of new supply, albeit at a much slower rate than the double-digit increases seen in the prior two years. Average rents in Miami rose 3.8% year-over-year to $15.68 per SF, as vacancy climbed modestly by 0.8% but remained tight at 2.4%.

Iberia Foods recently signed a 398K SF lease at an under construction warehouse at Bridge Point Commerce Center (PHOTO: Google Maps)

One of the largest new leases of the year came in the last weeks of 2023 with Iberia Foods inking a 398K SF deal at Bridge Point Commerce Center in Miami Gardens, according to CoStar. The seller and distributor of Caribbean and Latino cuisine will move into an 800K SF building at the business park, one of two warehouses under construction at the Bridge Industrial development that are expected to deliver soon.

Iberia Foods’ large lease runs counter to the trend in South Florida. New deals between 20K and 50K SF accounted for 36% of leasing activity through Q3, and the number of deals above 100K SF slipped by 71.5%, according to Avison Young.

“We saw a softness in the market on the tenants above 100K SF having real trouble making decisions,” Thomson said. “It was less to do with the microeconomics down here in South Florida and more to do with the macroeconomics of the U.S. Those dynamics are beginning to shift as the prevailing consensus that interest rates have peaked is making tenants more willing to move ahead with large investments.”

Thomson added that his team was working on several larger-footprint deals that he expected to close in the first quarter.

The expectation that a backlog of demand and a runway for growth persists in Miami was reflected in a spate of year-end acquisitions. The largest of the deals to close in the last two weeks of December was the $174M sale of a Hialeah industrial park. Codina Partners sold three parcels in Beacon Logistics Park to an affiliate of Property Reserve, the investment arm of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day SaintsSouth Florida Business Journal reported.

Codina broke ground on the warehouse park in 2018 and has completed two buildings on the property’s 63 acres, with another two under construction. Another pair of buildings are permitted for development but haven’t broken ground. The property has approvals for up to 1.5M SF of space.

New Jersey-based industrial investment firm Faropoint acquired another industrial portfolio at the close of the year, spending $25M on three warehouses totaling 142K SF at 12900 NW 38th Ave. in Opa-Locka, The Real Deal reported. The seller, California-based industrial investor The O’Donnell Group, paid $17M a year earlier to acquire the properties.

On the single-tenant side, The Easton Group paid $17M for a 45K SF warehouse in Medley in a deal that closed Dec. 20. The seller was the snack company Frito-Lay, a subsidiary of PepsiCo, which will be relocating to 131K SF at Bridge Point Doral in what was the largest new lease of Q3.

Doral-based Easton was one of several bidders on the property, said Dalton Easton, an associate at the firm’s brokerage arm, Easton & Associates, who arranged the sale. Easton secured $9M in financing for the deal from Grove Bank and Trust in just three weeks, despite not having a new tenant in place and what Easton described as a challenging lending environment.

“Miami’s bread and butter tenant size is 50K SF and lower,” Easton said. “You’re seeing more normalized demand, you’re not seeing 15 or 20 users looking for half a million SF, you’re looking at the usual 50K SF and smaller.”

As part of a 25-building portfolio that sold for $260M, Longpoint Partners acquired the buildings at 2100 and 2190 SW 71st Terrace in Davie (Courtesy of Images For Business)

The deals followed a 25-building transaction earlier in the month in which Longpoint Partners paid $260M to acquire a 1.4M SF portfolio from Pennsylvania-based Seagis Property GroupCommercial Observer reported.

After acquiring the portfolio, which spans Miami-Dade and Broward Counties and is 97% leased to 77 tenants, the Boston-based private equity firm secured a $94M construction loan covering nine of the properties, South Florida Business Journal reported. The loan came from Athene Annuity and Life Co., a subsidiary of Apollo Global Management.

The performance of the industrial sector in Broward County in 2023 mirrored, and in some respects outperformed, its neighbor to the south.

The county saw 2.8M SF of leasing activity through the year, a 43% dip from 2022 levels, according to Cushman & Wakefield’s preliminary data. But a significantly smaller number of deliveries, which totaled 693K SF with 618K SF currently under construction, helped push vacancy down half a percentage point year-over-year to 2.7%.

“The tight market helped Broward County maintain double-digit annual rent growth, with average rents rising 12.1% year-over-year to $15.37 per SF,” Thomson said. “But the pace of rate increases is expected to slow in 2024 as the market returns to a level of leasing activity more in line with pre-pandemic levels. If you look at the rental rates in comparison to where they were in 2019, there has been such a run-up that I think we’re just going to really see them go back to a natural 4% increase going forward. When you talk to people that are looking at projects to purchase, they’re not budgeting 10% to 20% rental increases.”

Rockpoint paid $180M for 88 acres in Pompano Beach where it’s planning to build 1.5M SF of industrial space (PHOTO CREDIT: Rockpoint)

The dynamics are fueling some speculative development, with Rockpoint paying $180M in November for an 88-acre development site in Pompano Beach. The Boston-based private equity firm is planning to build around 1.5M SF of industrial space at the site, with the first phase slated to break ground in May.

“We are excited about this opportunity given the attractiveness of our basis combined with significant rent growth that Broward County is experiencing,” Tom Gilbane, managing member at Rockpoint, said in a statement following the acquisition.

The burst of activity in Q4 is likely to carry into this year, industrial brokers said, with any interest rate cuts at the Federal Reserve unlocking capital for acquisitions in the supply-constrained South Florida markets, which CoStar predicts will be among the top U.S. regions for rent growth over the next four years.

“If the Fed starts cutting rates, the cost of capital will follow and it’ll create a surge of activity,” Easton said. “From an acquisition standpoint, across the board, there has been capital on the sidelines waiting to be deployed down here for a long time.”

 

Source: Bisnow

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Butters Construction & Development broke ground on a warehouse in Tamarac after securing a $26 million construction loan.

TD Bank provided the mortgage to Hiatus Industrial Venture LLC, a joint venture between Coconut Creek-based Butters and New York-based BlackRock. It covers the 12.55-acre site at 5601 N. Hiatus Road. The site is just off the Sawgrass Expressway near the Commercial Boulevard exit.

Butters Construction & Development will build a warehouse at 5601 N. Hiatus Road, Tamarac, for Sonny’s Enterprises. (RENDERING CREDIT: RLC ARCHITECTS)

Butters already announced a tenant for the 201,000-square-foot warehouse there. Sonny’s Enterprises, a manufacturer of car wash equipment, will occupy the entire space as its headquarters and distribution facility. The company currently has several locations in Tamarac.

The developer purchased the property for $16.23 million in 2021 and demolished an office building there.

 

Source: SFBJ

CRE Florida Partners  Managing Partner Michael Rauch and Tom Robertson represented the seller in the sale of a 15,268-square-foot office/showroom/warehouse facility located at 1432 E. Newport Center Drive in Deerfield Beach.

The building traded at $2,800,000, or $183 per square foot, marking the highest negotiated price for an industrial asset in Newport Center, a large, master-planned professional business park located 5 minutes from Interstate I-95, just south of SW 10th Street, with easy access to the Sawgrass Expressway.  The park features two hotels, a daycare center, and is home to many notable businesses including JPMorgan Chase, UM Sylvester, Quest Diagnostics, Sandvik Corporation, HYLA USA, and the Mapei Corporation.

“This Class A asset is the firm’s fourth sale within Newport Center, which included an exclusive investment assignment owned by the General Electric Company,” commented Robertson. “As industrial building users continue to expand their businesses the demand for this asset type will remain strong.”

CRE Rauch, Robertson & Co. is seeking leasing and investment sales professionals for its growing commercial real estate expansion in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties. Multiple positions are available within these and other Florida markets that offer a unique ground floor career opportunity to work closely with the firm’s Founders Tom Robertson and Michael Rauch to move their vision for the CRE Florida Partners brand forward. Commission and benefits are commensurate with experience. A Florida Real Estate License and Commercial Real Estate experience are required. Only qualified candidates should apply by forwarding resumes to mail@crefloridapartners.com.

 

 

Development is catching up with Dania Beach, a once-sleepy city between Fort Lauderdale to the north and Miami to the south.

Antique shops and mom-and-pop restaurants have been joined in recent years by a new casino and the under-construction $800M mixed-use project Dania Pointe. Coming soon: a total redevelopment of the city center.

The Dania Beach City Commission just voted to move forward with a proposal from Virginia-based REIT Armada Hoffler Properties and Boca Raton-based Capital Group to build a modern municipal building, plus five apartment buildings, two office buildings and a hotel.

The milestone came after an eight-month bid process that started when the commission entered into an agreement in December with the Dania Beach Community Redevelopment Agency and Colliers International South Florida for real estate services. They sought bids for a public-private partnership for a mixed-use development on 6.42 acres of city-owned land valued at $12.3M at 100 West Dania Beach Blvd., currently home to City Hall, a fire station, two historic buildings and a 440-space parking garage.

Three bidders submitted proposals. An evaluation committee gave the highest rank to the partnership between Armada Hoffler Properties and Capital Group. Dania Beach’s five commissioners voted unanimously to begin negotiations with the pair of developers.

According to Armada Hoffler‘s proposal, they would develop The First at Dania Beach — “a Catalyst for Entrepreneurs, Artists and for a Cultural Renaissance.” The project is estimated to cost $634.2M.

Armada Hoffler would redevelop the property in three phases, building five 14-story apartment buildings, two nine-story office buildings and a 150-room hotel. City Hall would be demolished and rebuilt, housing new city offices, a library, a women’s club and the chamber of commerce all in one building. A parking garage would be expanded by two stories, and two historic buildings would be relocated.

Armada Hoffler would lease the government buildings back to the city for 20 to 30 years and ultimately turn them back over to the city. The city would give the developers a lease for $1 a year. The REIT would also purchase some land needed for private development.

Armada Hoffler proposed that the yearly lease rate for the municipal building and parking garage improvements “be between $1.03M and $1.33M depending on the final terms and conditions … The annual lease rates for the Fire Station is expected to be $151K and $180K.”

At last night’s city commission meeting, Kevin Greiner, a development planner with the FIU Metropolitan Center who sat on the evaluation committee, called it “a potentially transformative project for Dania Beach” and said that “the financial deal proposed to the city is excellent for the city … the economics are extremely exceptional from the city’s perspective.”

Planners had spent months getting input from a community charrette and developer focus group, he said. Housing would be 100% for middle income earners, and the project would include performance space and an option to eventually connect to Tri-Rail Rail’s Coastal Link, he said.

One resident complained that citizens hadn’t been well-informed about the proposal. “It smells fishy to me. I’m not sure who on the board is colluding,” the man said, insisting that current residents didn’t want an influx of thousands of new residents and cars. Commissioner Chickie Brandemarte worried about impacts on water resources, traffic and schools. Already, Dania Beach‘s population has grown 8.1% since 2010.

Various speakers stressed that the site was just a first step and that the particulars could be tweaked and decided upon in the coming months and years. Ultimately, the commission approved a resolution allowing the city manager to establish a negotiating team to move forward and negotiate with Armada Hoffler and Capital Group.

 

Source: Bisnow

The ink isn’t dry on Blackstone Group’s $18 billion buy of a U.S. warehouse portfolio, and it’s already negotiating to sell part of it.

The company, which finished its transition into a corporation this month, is drumming up interest from potential buyers for pieces of the GLP Pte portfolio, Bloomberg reported. Prologis is in private discussions to buy one such portfolio, valued at $1 billion.

Blackstone’s $18.7 billion deal for the Singaporean company’s 179 million-square-foot warehouse portfolio is one of the largest industrial real estate deals ever.

Selling non-core or non-strategic pieces of a recently required purchase isn’t uncommon. Blackstone applied the same strategy in 2007 when it sold off parts of its $40 billion acquisition of Equity Office Properties Trust.

On the whole, the warehouse sector has seen little supply, high demand and high prices, with available industrial and logistics real estate rising slightly for the first time in 34 quarters, according to a CBRE report. Demand for warehouse and distribution reached an 18-year high in 2018.

Large owners are optimistic that there will continue to be institutional investment in industrial real estate. As Prologis negotiates for a piece of Blackstone’s new holdings, it’s also in advanced talks to buy another $4 billion portfolio from Black Creek Group which spans 37.6 million square feet.

Colony Capital is weighing the sale of its $5 billion industrial in holdings on the heels of selling another warehouse portfolio for $104.6 million.

 

Source: The Real Deal

Laskody

CRE Florida Partners Capital Markets is proud to announce the successful closing and funding of a first mortgage loan collateralized by a  ±42,000-square foot single-tenant/owner-user industrial warehouse property located in Boynton Beach.

The $2.5 million loan was made at a 48% loan-to-value ratio and contained a 10-year term with a 25-year amortization schedule.  The loan was procured and placed by Greg Laskody, CCIM, and was ultimately closed by a local private bank that will portfolio the loan on its balance sheet.

CRE Florida Partners (CRE) is a full-service commercial real estate company based in Boca Raton, Florida.

CRE’s Managing Partner Michael Rauch commented, “Debt placement is becoming a critical component for our clients in this very competitive lending market. Having the ability to source full-service solutions is critical to our clients’ success.”

Lauderdale-by-the-Sea

A beachside hotel building near the entrance of Lauderdale-by-the-Sea is in for a big comeback after sitting dormant for seven years.

The five-story, 183-room hotel building — once home to a Holiday Inn — is being bought by developers who plan to add a “state-of-the-art hotel.”

The deal is among a growing lineup of new properties across Broward County, as many beachside communities add tourist and business hotels to beef up their commercial centers.

A joint venture of Concord Wilshire Capital LLC and TLG Investment Partners LLC said they signed a purchase-and-sale agreement to acquire the now-idle site along with the former Villa Caprice beachfront site nearby. The prices were not disclosed.

The former Holiday Inn is in the 4100 block of El Mar Drive, bound by State Road A1A to the west and El Mar Drive to the east. There’s also a second property, the former beachfront Villa Caprice Hotel, a 24-room, two-story bungalow-style hotel, across the street on El Mar Drive. It’s been out of service for nearly three years.

“The two sites will be redeveloped in collaboration with the town of Lauderdale-by-the-Sea,” said Nate Sirang, president of Concord Wilshire. “The developers intend to create a modern new hotel with a major flag brand and popular restaurant concepts. The deal is expected to close in 120 days.”

Sirang did not identify the brand or the concepts, and said there are no specific plans on the drawing board yet.

Who’s Behind The Upgrades?

Concord Wilshire, based in Marietta, Ga., develops and acquires residential, resort and mixed-use real estate properties across the U.S., including Las Vegas, Phoenix, and South and Central Florida.

TLG is a Fort Lauderdale-based real estate investment firm headed by Leland Pillsbury and Christopher Nieberding. They invest in recreation, residential and commercial properties.

The Lauderdale-by-the-Sea acquisitions come at an opportune time for the town and for the broader Broward County marketplace, as new hotels are cropping up all over the county, especially in Fort Lauderdale, Pompano Beach, Dania Beach and Hollywood.

Lauderdale-by-the-Sea spent millions overhauling its east-west business district from the Intracoastal Waterway to the beach on East Commercial Boulevard, making it more friendly to pedestrians and bicyclists. The town widened sidewalks, upgraded bus stops, improved traffic flows to and from businesses and created safer crosswalks for pedestrians to change sides of the boulevard. And the town emerged as a popular venue for Friday nights out, with live bands playing at the epicenter of its downtown on Commercial Boulevard east of A1A.

Other New Hotels Across Region

Elsewhere around the county, a new Hampton Inn opened for business on U.S. 1 in Pompano Beach.

In Dania Beach, the 143-room Morrison Hotel, 104-room Comfort Suites Downtown Dania and 142-room Wyndham Garde were among those opening inside the last two years.

The Dalmar Hotel and Fairfield Inn were completed in downtown Fort Lauderdale last year, the first new hotels to be delivered since 2012, according to the city’s Downtown Development Authority.

Two Marriott hotels are rising at the Dania Pointe commercial project east of I-95 and south of Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

 

Source: SunSentinel

Michael Rauch and Tom Robertson, Senior Managing Partners with CRE Florida Partners, represented the owners, T.G. Wright Jr. Properties LLC, in the sale of an industrial investment property located at 2150-2160 N. Andrews Ave. in Pompano Beach, Florida.

The ±16,438 square foot facility, which is situated on ±1.25 acres fronting Andrews Ave with easy access to Copans Rd.and I-95, sold for $1,515,000, or $92.16 per square foot on a 6.8% cap rate.

Built in 1984, the building features 24’ warehouse clear height, storefront hurricane grade windows, 1 dock loading door and 2 grade level loading doors.

CRE Florida Partners has represented the owners of this property since 2014.

Tom Robertson

Michael Rauch

“General industrial inventory is low in South Florida and this sale represented an opportunity for the buyer to enjoy a strong 6.8% cap rate and very competitive $92.16 price per square foot,” commented Rauch.

 

Michael Rauch and Tom Robertson, Senior Managing Partners with CRE Florida Partners, represented the owners, MDS Builders, in the sale of an office building located within Boca Raton Professional Plaza at 301 Crawford Blvd. in Boca Raton.

The office building sold for $2,700,000 ($180 per square foot) with a cap rate of 6.4%.

The 1979-built 2-story office building, which is located in the heart of Downtown Boca Raton’s business district, totals  ±15,004 square feet and is 100% occupied. It has recently been updated and renovated.

“The property has a solid mix of local, well established tenants, very low deferred maintenance and a class “A” location, making it an attractive purchase,” commented Rauch.

Tom Robertson & MIchael RauchCRE Rauch, Robertson & Co. is seeking leasing and investment sales professionals for its growing commercial real estate expansion in Broward and Palm Beach counties. Multiple positions are available within these and other Florida markets that offer a unique ground floor career opportunity to work closely with the firm’s Founders Tom Robertson and Michael Rauch to move their vision for the CRE Florida Partners brand forward. Commission and benefits are commensurate with experience. A Florida Real Estate License and Commercial Real Estate experience are required. Only qualified candidates should apply by forwarding resumes to mail@crefloridapartners.com.

 

Tom Robertson, Co-Founder and Senior Managing Partner with CRE Rauch RobertsonCRE Florida Partners company, recently completed the sale of an industrial property located at 3411 SW 11th Street in Deerfield Beach to RMB Holdings LLC for $2,700,000.

This ±21,165 square foot facility, built in 1987, is situated on ±1.3 acres, which fronts both SW 10th and SW 11th Street.

Robertson has represented the leasing and sale interests for this building since 2002.

“The property’s close proximity to Sawgrass Expressway and I-95 via SW 10th Street certainly added tremendous value to the offering,” said Robertson.

The available sale inventory is low and CRE Florida Partners is currently working with several buyers looking for similar properties in North Broward and Southern Palm Beach County.

Tom Robertson

“This acquisition represents the ‘down leg’ sale of an IRC1031 Tax Free Exchange,” explained Robertson. “We are very pleased to represent this seller in both the “down leg” and “up leg” purchase of this tax free exchange.”

Michael Rauch

“This is just another example of how our firm handles long term relationships with our clients,” added Michael Rauch, CRE Florida Partners’ Senior Managing Partner. “Tom managed this property through lease up and sale with skill and patience while armed with critical market intelligence.”

CRE Rauch, Robertson & Co. is seeking leasing and investment sales professionals for its growing commercial real estate expansion in Broward and Palm Beach counties. Multiple positions are available within these and other Florida markets that offer a unique ground floor career opportunity to work closely with the firm’s Founders Tom Robertson and Michael Rauch to move their vision for the CRE Florida Partners brand forward. Commission and benefits are commensurate with experience. A Florida Real Estate License and Commercial Real Estate experience are required. Only qualified candidates should apply by forwarding resumes to mail@crefloridapartners.com.

 

 

 

Meet the new year, same as the old year. Or maybe better.

Palm Beach County’s economy is expected to continue its strong growth, as the year wrapped up with a still-booming real estate market, combined with continued business growth in the area.

President Donald Trump’s part-time residence at his Mar-a-Lago mansion on Palm Beach has drawn attention to the county both as a business and tourist destination. But even prior to Trump’s January inauguration, the county already was flush with new hotel construction geared to the rise in tourism.

“The county’s newest hotel, the Hilton at the Palm Beach County Convention Center, had a strong first with 85 percent occupancy,” according to Ken Himmel, president of Related Urban, the hotel’s developer.

More hotels are under construction, including an Aloft Hotel in Delray Beach and a Canopy Hotel in West Palm Beach. Tourism wasn’t the county’s only booming field.

“The past 12 months saw growth in a variety of industries,” said Kelly Smallridge, president of the Business Development Board, the county’s business recruitment arm.

Among the companies growing are Bee Access, a scaffolding manufacturer in West Palm Beach; Jupiter-based Parametric Solutions, which engineers and makes gas turbine engines for aircraft and industrial power applications; and GeoGlobal Partners, which designs and makes pumps and valves in West Palm Beach.

“We’re one of the rare counties that has six to eight solid industries,” Smallridge said, ticking off manufacturing, equestrian, tourism, agribusiness, financial services, corporate headquarters and distribution and logistics.

Another growing area: Companies run by entrepreneurs. Moderning Medicine, a Boca Raton-based medical records firm and one of the fastest-growing technology companies in South Florida, said in 2017 it plans to hire 800 people, in addition to the more than 500 it already employs.

Helping boost more corporate growth in the coming year: The Brightline passenger train, slated to start regular service in the coming weeks.

“Companies already are saying they feel more comfortable opening offices in Palm Beach County because they know they can pull employees from Broward or Miami-Dade counties,” Smallridge said.

Of course, the biggest driver of Palm Beach County remains real estate. Growth, particularly in the housing market, was hot in 2017 and will remain so in 2018, experts say. This is despite the lengthy real estate boom that now is stretching into its eighth year.

Housing analyst Jack McCabe said he expected to see a market correction on the horizon, but he now thinks a slowdown will be delayed by the the tax legislation passed by Congress. The sweeping tax law limits deductions for state and local taxes.

“This is bad news for residents in such high-tax states as New Jersey and New York but good news for Florida, which has no state income tax and already is a destination for residents from the Northeast,” said McCabe, of McCabe Consulting in Deerfield Beach.

It’s not just the housing market that will get a boost from the tax bill, business leaders said.

“Executives already have been making inquiries about bringing their companies to Palm Beach County,” Smallridge said. “We’ve seen 20 plus calls over the last month. There’s already a steady stream of inquiries by companies seeking to relocate. Among them are corporate headquarters and financial services firms out of Manhattan, Boston, Greenwich and even Chicago. Tax attorneys in the Northeast are hard at work figuring out how to domicile companies in Florida.

If they consider moving companies, corporate leaders will find rental housing available but for-sale homes difficult to find. That’s because there’s been little new home construction during the past decade.

“Homeowners are staying in their homes longer, prompting a number of residents to remodel existing homes,” said Brad Hunter, chief economist of HomeAdvisor, which connects homeowners with local service professionals to complete home improvement or remodeling jobs.

Although new apartment complexes are cropping up throughout the county, many come with rents that can reach nearly $2,000 a month or more.

“It’s very tough for people to rent right now, and if they do, it’s hard to save up for any down payment for a home,” McCabe said.

Among the new apartment complexes that opened in 2017: The 400-unit Altis apartments in Boca Raton; the 205-unit apartment tower dubbed The Alexander in West Palm Beach. Other projects commenced construction, including the 315-unit Broadstone City Center and the 290-unit Park-Line in West Palm Beach, both of which are expected to attract renters who may use the Brightline train station nearby.

High land prices have made it difficult for home developers to find locations to build. Some are turning to infill sites, such as golf courses, for new homes, while others are looking west. In July, Minto Communities started construction on Westlake, a newly-created city set to contain 4,500 new homes. The city is off Seminole Pratt Whitney Road north of Okeechobee Boulevard.

Also in demand are new offices and industrial space. But both are hard to find, said Rebel Cook of Rebel Cook Real Estate and president of the Economic Forum, a business group.

“Industrial space, particularly small sizes, is virtually impossible to find, crimping growth by companies that want to expand their businesses here,” said Cook. “If you’re a growing company and you want to go from 5,000 to 10,000 square feet, I can’t find you anything here. This is the first time in 35 years of selling warehouses that I don’t have one warehouse for sale. Not one.”

New offices could be coming to West Palm Beach but not right away. In early 2018, The Related Cos. of New York is expected to propose construction of an urban-style office building next to CityPlace in West Palm Beach. In addition, billionaire Palm Beach investor Jeff Greene has pledged he will start construction on One West Palm, a twin-tower office/hotel/housing complex set for 550 Quadrille Blvd. in West Palm Beach.

 

Source: Palm Beach Post

Prologis just sold a portfolio of properties in Broward and Palm Beach counties to Chicago-based Equity Office for more than $110 million, property records show.

The portfolio includes industrial buildings in Delray Beach, Mangonia Park, Hollywood, Dania Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Pompano Beach and Coconut Creek. The deal was financed with an $83.5 million loan from Wells Fargo.

Equity Office, which is owned by the Blackstone Group, also bought properties in Seminole and Miami-Dade counties, as well as Illinois and Wisconsin. The sales in Miami-Dade County have not yet cleared records. Prologis and Equity Office were not immediately available to comment.

Records show the Blackstone affiliate picked up an industrial complex at 430 South Congress Avenue for $9.5 million and an industrial site at 1335 West 53rd Street for $4.6 million.

In Broward, industrial complexes at 3601 and 3613 North 29th Avenue in Hollywood sold for $23.5 million; properties at 3700 North 29th Avenue, 3401 North 29th Avenue and 5555 Angler Avenue in Dania Beach sold for $14.6 million; buildings at 3600 Northwest 35th Avenue, and 5535 and 5545 Northwest 35th Avenue in Fort Lauderdale closed for $12.1 million; and the warehouse complexes at 2800 North Andrew Avenue in Pompano Beach and 4801 Johnson Road in Coconut Creek sold for a combined $39.7 million.

The properties were originally owned by KTR Capital Partners, which was acquired by Prologis and Norway’s sovereign wealth fund in 2015 for $5.9 billion.

Equity Office owns a portfolio of more than 50 million square feet of office space across the country, according to its website. Blackstone acquired its assets in a $39 billion leveraged buyout in 2007.

 

Source: The Real Deal