With market heating up, another spec warehouse breaks ground in Plant City
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Oct 9, 2015

With its most recent spec warehouse in Plant City nearly full, Central Florida Development has broken ground on another.

The developer is under construction on a 100,000-square-foot warehouse, which is yet to sign any tenants. Its most recent project at County Line Road at U.S. Highway 92 in Plant City is 75 percent leased to two different tenants.

Outside of that 25,000 square feet, Central Florida Development doesn't have any other available space, which is why the company decided to move forward with the second building, said Jeff Lucas, a spokesman.

Speculative development is inherently riskier than breaking ground with a signed tenant. When a developer breaks ground speculatively, it's a show of faith that there will be continued demand for commercial space in that particular area. David Buckner of Buckner Commercial Properties is marketing the warehouse for lease.

Potential tenants include manufacturers, distributors and even office users, Lucas said, especially for companies that do business in both Tampa and Orlando. Plant City's recent focus on economic development - creating its own organization to pursue deals - also is a driving force behind the new warehouse.

"It isn't an office market like Westshore or downtown Tampa, but when you take the helicopter view it does make sense," he said.

Ashley Gurbal Kritzer is a reporter for the Tampa Bay Business Journal.