EastGroup Properties is nearing completion of Suncoast Commerce Center IV, Fort Myers’ first multitenant, speculative industrial building in years.
Located south of Luckett Road and fronting I-75, the 92,558sf building is expected to be available for occupancy in May. Already, Mattress Firm has agreed to lease 25,000sf there.
“This is the next phase of development in our SunCoast Commerce Center because we believe the economic recovery in Southwest Florida is now on solid ground,” says John Coleman, senior vice president of the Florida regional office of EastGroup, which is investing $9 million in the building. He adds that it is ideal for tenants looking for existing, modern warehouse and distribution space to move into quickly.
“Large blocks of new industrial space are virtually non-existent in the (local) market as fast-growing businesses have filled much of the available space,” says Jerry Messonnier, principal with Lee & Associates, which is leasing the building. He estimates that fewer than five percent of the warehouse space in Fort Myers is available and that much of it is obsolete. That’s not the case at Suncoast Commerce Center IV, which offers power systems, sprinklers, ramps, bay spacing and other amenities expected at a modern distribution facility.
Besides the new building, SunCoast Commerce Center has one other industrial building, which is fully leased, and room for four additional buildings. “We are long-term owners of industrial buildings and parks and we like to grow with pro-business communities such as Fort Myers and Lee County,” says Coleman, noting that the company has enough land in Fort Myers to build one million square feet.
EastGroup is a self-administered equity real estate investment trust focused on the development, acquisition and operation of industrial properties throughout the Sunbelt, particularly Florida, Texas, Arizona, California and North Carolina. Its current industrial portfolio contains 38 million square feet.
For more information, please visit www.eastgroup.net or www.lee-associates. com.
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