MDH Partners today announces the acquisition of 28 acres of industrial land in Ocala, FL, with plans to construct Ocala Logistics Center on a speculative basis, a 350,878-square-foot Class-A, cross-dock distribution building. Joe DeHaven served as the deal lead for MDH Partners. Clay Witherspoon with Avison Young represented the seller and will also lease the property on behalf of MDH. MDH has engaged Peak Development Company out of Tampa, FL who will act as the development manager for the project.
“We continue to see robust industrial demand across Central Florida, and we are excited to kick-off the development of Ocala Logistics Center on a speculative basis,” said DeHaven, Senior Managing Director at MDH Partners. “Ocala is an up-and-coming market that is just beginning to witness significant institutional industrial investment. With easy access to I-75 and good proximity to the Florida Turnpike, coupled with the deep labor pool in Ocala, we feel like Ocala has the pieces in place to become a major logistics market within the state and serve as a lower cost alternative for those tenants seeking space in the highly competitive I-4 corridor.”
Ocala Logistics Center is situated on 27.85 acres of land, located at the corner of NW 35th Street and NW 27th Avenue in Ocala. The property will feature 279 parking spaces, ESFR sprinkler systems and 36-foot clear heights. The facility is located a half-mile from the nearest access point to I-75 and 25 miles north of the Florida Turnpike Junction, which offers convenient routes to major highways throughout the state. In addition to the interstate road network, the property is uniquely positioned with direct access to several airports, including the Tampa International Airport, Orlando International Airport and Jacksonville International Airport, and to ports on both the Atlantic and Gulf. Peak Logistics Center is located adjacent to many other major distribution centers, including Amazon, Chewy.com, FedEx, Dollar Tree and Autozone.
According to the Ocala Metro Chamber & Economic Partnership (CEP), Ocala’s strategic location reaches 34 million residents with a six hour drive-time. Kevin Sheilley, President and CEO of the Ocala Metro CEP says, “An Ocala location affords companies a 39% increase in access to population compared to I-4. This significant premium is drawing more and more interest from companies needing to primarily serve the burgeoning Florida population.”
According to Colliers, the Central Florida industrial market maintained consistent positive performance, with nearly 806,000 square feet of space absorbed in the third quarter of 2021. This brings the year-to-date total to three million square feet of space absorbed. At the end of the quarter, only 4.5% of the region’s industrial space remained vacant, the lowest since 2018.
The development of Ocala Logistics Center will increase MDH Partners’ Florida footprint to over 1.5 million square feet. The firm previously acquired Gatewood Corporate Center, a six-building industrial park located in Sarasota-Bradenton, in September 2020, and recently brought the facility to 100% leased in August 2021. MDH Partners has remained very active, acquiring nearly five million square feet of industrial assets since January 2021. The firm recently expanded into new markets, including California, Maryland, Ohio, Illinois and Pennsylvania, and currently owns over 70 assets across 18 states.
About MDH Partners
MDH Partners is an Atlanta-based real estate investment company managing its discretionary funds targeting industrial real estate across the United States on behalf of its institutional investors. Founded in 2005 as the successor to a fifty-year-old local real estate development company, MDH Partners has led and/or participated in over $6 billion (80 million square feet) of acquisitions, developments, and asset management as an advisor and investor. For more information, visit www.mdhpartners.com.
