Rockefeller Group sells off largest developable tract along I-4 in Lakeland
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Dec 28, 2015

The largest developable tract along Interstate 4 has been sold to an Illinois group that is planning to develop speculative warehouses there.

Brennan Investment Group, based in Rosemont, Illinois, has closed on 112 acres at 3401 Old Polk City Road in Lakeland, just off Exit 38 of I-4.

A team of brokers from Colliers International Tampa Bay - Ed Miller, Dolores Seymour and Deborah Mickler - represented the seller in the transaction, New York-based Rockefeller Group. A purchase price was not disclosed. A deed for the transaction has not yet been filed in Polk County.

The Lakeland market is ripe for speculative development. It's routinely noted as one of the hottest industrial markets in the country, with a vacancy rate below 5 percent.

Brennan has already applied for permits for the first building, which will be 600,000 square feet. Phase one consists of that building and one that's 120,000 square feet; the second phase will be 440,000 square feet. Miller said Brennan is moving toward breaking ground as fast as possible.

"Typically, Lakeland and Central Florida in general is sort of a swing-for-the-fences market," Miller said, "where people are willing to step out ahead of the market."

Bob Krueger, managing principal of Brennan, has done just that before. He was with First Industrial Realty Trust when the group developed First Park at Bridgewater - a 2-million-square-foot industrial park south of I-4 at Exit 38. (The 112-acre site is north of I-4.)

That was in 2004, when Krueger was a pioneer in Lakeland's industrial market. Now, between Walmart Stores Inc.'s $200 million ecommerce fulfillment center under construction in Winter Haven and Amazon Inc.'s distribution center in Lakeland, the entire region is a proven market.

The purchase of the 112-acre site, Krueger said, checks three major criteria for a real estate development: It's the right time, right product and right place.

"We know that the city of Lakeland and I-4 corridor absolutely works for distribution," said Krueger, who is based in Tampa. "We know that the I-4 corridor, within five to 10 years, it's going to be completely filled in and Tampa and Orlando will almost become like one metro market."

Colliers has been retained to market the new development to prospective tenants, and Miller said that while he's primarily focused on large distribution users, the site could accommodate a variety of industrial tenants, including food processing, food storage and cold storage.

"There's such an opportunity in Lakeland to attract high end companies with sophisticated manufacturing," Miller said.

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