Woodmont Industrial Partners plans to build a warehouse complex at the Palm Beach Park of Commerce, as the developer continues to make a hefty play on the robust industrial market.
Woodmont paid $40.4 million for 116.6 acres at the industrial park along Bee Line Highway west of Jupiter, with plans for eight Class A buildings, according to a company news release.
The Fairfield, New Jersey-based developer and owner of industrial real estate purchased the properties in eight deals, one for each parcel, from three affiliates of Atlanta-based TPA Group, records show. Woodmont scored a $20.2 million loan from Valley National Bank.
Woodmont will build its project over the next three to four years, with the first 301,145-square-foot warehouse and the second 53,245-square-foot warehouse expected to be completed in July 2023, according to the release.
The master-planned Palm Beach Park of Commerce spans 1,300 acres with heavy- and light industrial developable land, as well as commercial building sites, according to TPA’s website. A Cushman & Wakefield marketing brochure shows the park is on the northeast corner of Bee Line Highway and Pratt Whitney Road. The area is in unincorporated Palm Beach County, near Palm Beach Gardens.
Woodmont’s land is both east and west of Park of Commerce Boulevard.
The industrial park includes buildings occupied by Walgreens, General Motors, Niagara Water, McLane and Kelly Slater Surf Ranch, TPA’s website shows.
In 2020, Amazon announced it is building a 1 million-square-foot fulfillment center on a Park of Commerce site it is leasing from SunTrust Equity Funding, which paid $21.8 million for 100 acres.
Woodmont, which develops and invests in residential real estate and various commercial property types, was founded in 1963 by Donald Witmondt, according to the company’s website. The family owned company is now headed by CEO Eric Witmondt.
In Pompano Beach, Woodmont and Butters Construction & Development are building the 84,000-square-foot Andrews Logistics distribution facility on 6.1 acres. It is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter, according to Woodmont’s website.
Woodmont also plans other developments in Florida, as it bets on the regional industrial market. The company plans to buy 500,000 square feet of property in Palm Beach, Martin and St. Lucie counties, citing the region’s strong demand and low vacancy rates, according to the release. It will keep partnering with Florida-based firms, including Butters.
In 2021, industrial investment sales activity in South Florida far outpaced that of 2020. The biggest deal last year, CenterPoint’s $184 million purchase of warehouses in Hialeah, was almost double the top $94 million deal of 2020.