Cold storage is hot: Developer scores $48M construction loan to build Hialeah facility

Cold storage is hot.

A giant cold storage warehouse will soon rise in Hialeah after its developer secured a $48 million construction loan.

Chill Build Miami I LLC, tied to Indianapolis-based DEEM, received the construction loan from a syndicate of banks. Huntington National Bank, Associated Bank, First Merchants Bank and MidFirst Bank provided the funds to build a Preferred Freezer Services warehouse in the planned Countyline Corporate Park.

DEEM bought the 10.6-acre property for $14.1 million from Florida East Coast Industries (FECI) in December 2018, records show.

The cold storage distribution center will total 185,731 square feet, including 151,171 square feet of freezer, cold storage and dock space, as well as 10,000 square feet of office space and 5,450 square feet of mechanical space.

The Countyline Corporate Park is a FECI master-planned business park that will include 8 million square feet of Class A warehouses, office and industrial build-to-suit space. Aircraft services company KLX Aerospace Solutions’ new headquarters will be located at the corporate park.

Preferred Freezer has 39 facilities in 10 states, with over 338 million cubic feet of warehouse space.