Ahead of the expansion of the Panama Canal, which will send massive new cargo ships to PortMiami, commercial firms like the Easton Group are buying up huge amounts of industrial space.
The Doral-based firm currently owns more than 2.5 million square feet of industrial space, and is continuing to invest in warehouses. In December, the company spent over $10 million on a 120,000-square-foot warehouse, plus four acres at 2525 NW 82nd Avenue in Doral. And it has just gone into contract on two other properties in Miami-Dade County.
“It’s nothing but positive,” chairman Edward Easton told the Daily Business Review. “I’m optimistic about industrial properties and would be glad to buy them, but they’re hard to find. There are very few motivated sellers out there. The market is very strong.”
The Chicago-based conglomerate Bridge Development Partners is also getting in on the action. The firm has about 1 million square feet of office and industrial square feet under development across South Florida, and has two projects in the works in Broward.
By August, Development Partners hopes to open Bridge Point Port 95, two speculative Class A buildings with 229,632 square feet in Dania Beach. Another 185,000-square-foot project, Marina Mile, also in Dania Beach, will open in the fourth quarter. [Daily Business Review] – Christopher Cameron