Land Rush!
Unused and underutilized South Florida sites have been trading at a brisk pace recently. (It's a real estate hot potato.) Demand for higher and better uses is strong, and rents are up, so now’s the time, land dealmakers tell us—and not just for new apartments and condos.
Lincoln Property Co SVP Roy Paskow tells us that Medley’s still strong as an industrial market. Demand for industrial is largely being driven by tenants seeking easy access for distribution to the Tri-County area, proximity to a large labor pool (though proximity to an actual pool would be nice, it gets hot), and infrastructure and zoning conducive to light manufacturing, Roy says. Recently Lincoln and Crow Holdings Capital Partners formed a JV to buy seven acres in Medley, along the Florida Turnpike just south of the Okeechobee Road exit, to develop a new 136k SF industrial facility. Given the health of the market, Roy says, he has no doubt it’ll lease up quickly.
CapasGroup Realty Advisors prez Brad Capas tells us that the North Flagler/Currie Corridor in West Palm Beach is a hot market among investors looking for infill sites, especially now that city officials have proposed rezoning the Currie Corridor Mixed Use District to facilitate development. Recently Brad, along with Cushman & Wakefield’s Mark Pateman, repped Lehman Brothers Holdings in its sale of two infill sites in the corridor, the SE corner of 26th St and Dixie Highway, and the NW corner of 26th St and N Flagler Dr. The parcels contain two vacant office buildings totaling 75k SF.
Mizrach Realty Associates’ Ari Dispenza explains that properties have been trading with some velocity in Miami’s Wynwood neighborhood, but lately the dealmaking has intensified. (Blame the full moon?) Buyers are anticipating up-zoning, and are drawing up plans for mixed-use properties as the neighborhood becomes denser. Recently Ari repped a couple of LLCs in their purchase of a warehouse and vacant lot in Wynwood (2214 N Miami Ave and 74 NW 24 St). EWM’s Allison Turk repped the seller, Sam Ben-Avraham.
