Lakeland warehouse built speculatively snags year's biggest industrial lease
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Dec 21, 2023

A speculative Lakeland warehouse that broke ground at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic has landed the year's biggest industrial lease in the Tampa Bay region.

Atlanta-based Veritiv Corp., which provides packaging services, has leased 570,000 square feet — more than half — of the 1.01 million-square-foot CenterState Logistics Park East, the Tampa Bay Business Journal has learned.

The warehouse is owned by CBRE Investment Management. Chicago-based Brennan Investment Group developed it.

A team of brokers from JLL Inc. — John Dunphy, Bobby Isola, Peter Cecora and Julia Silva, who is now leading the Tampa office of Lee and Associates — represented the landlord in the lease transaction. Monica Wonus of CBRE represented Veritiv.

Representatives from JLL and CBRE declined comment.

Veritiv has distribution centers throughout Florida, and it's not known whether the Lakeland lease is a consolidation or expansion. Veritiv representatives were not immediately available for comment Thursday.

Tampa's industrial real estate market remained strong in the third quarter, according to data from CBRE. The total vacancy rate is 3.9%, according to CBRE, and rents continue to trend upward.