Equus Capital Partners, Ltd. is acquiring a Florida industrial center that takes up 299,241 square feet for $38 million. An affiliate of High Street Logistics Properties was the seller of the Lakewood property, with representation coming from CBRE.
The Lproperty, located at 900 & 920 North Chestnut Road, features two buildings, which were built in 2021. The Class A spaces come with LED lighting, 54' x 45' column spacing, at least 32 inches of clear height, and an ESFR sprinkler system. Plus, there is trailer parking, with 89 stalls.
The name of the property was not disclosed but it's 1.5 miles away from the I-4 highway and 4.2 miles from Lakeland Linder International Airport, which is where Amazon's largest Southeast air cargo facility sits.
Equus made the purchase through a joint venture consisting of its affiliate and a public pension plan that's headquartered in the US.
"This acquisition expands our presence in Lakeland with two class A buildings occupied by high credit tenants," Tim Feron, vice president of Equus, who oversaw the deal, said in a statement.
"Due to its central location and connectivity to I-4, Lakeland has established itself as a distribution hub serving the entire state. As the Florida population continues to grow, Lakeland, and these assets in particular, should continue to benefit from the demand for modern warehouse space."
The buildings at the time of the purchase were fully leased to food maker and a subsidiary of Mission Foods, Gruma, and a unit of glass repair firm Belron, which goes by Safelite.
In 2023, Florida ranked first in domestic and second in international migration, according to a recent report by Colliers. Each day, 1,000 individuals move to The Sunshine State, as the warm climate and tax policies remain attractive. Plus, retail sales growth has outpaced the national average, with volume reaching about $3.24 billion in the first six months of the year in Florida, an increase of 35.8 percent year-over-year. That bodes well for industrial activity in the state.