Exclusive: FedEx, LKQ Sign Industrial Deals to Lease Up McCraney’s Distribution 429 in Orlando
Two international companies have inked deals to lease out the remainder of an Ocoee industrial park — another sign that industrial real estate remains red hot in Central Florida.
Memphis-based FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) and Chicago-based LKQ Corp. (Nasdaq: LKQ) have inked leases for 201,000 square feet of space each at Distribution 429 in Ocoee, Orlando Business Journal has learned. The 652,696-square-foot industrial park is near State Road 429 and Florida’s Turnpike, and was developed by Orlando-based McCraney Property Co.
The park is now 100% leased. Lee & Associates’ Bo Bradford represented McCraney, and CBRE’s Monica Perez Wonus represented the tenants.
Representatives with CBRE, FedEx, Lee & Associates, LKQ and McCraney weren’t available for comment.
It’s FedEx’s latest deal in Orlando. In February, the transportation and e-commerce company inked a 433,434-square-foot lease deal in building 800 at Infinity Park, a 206-acre speculative business park near the Orange County Convention Center. So far, that remains the biggest industrial lease signed this year.
Meanwhile, Jersey City, New Jersey-based food service and maintenance supplier Imperial Dade inked a 380,510-square-foot deal for industrial space at Prologis Airport Park at 4600 E. Wetherbee Road in mid-September.
The deals show the demand for industrial space in Central Florida, which is driven by the region’s population growth and popularity of e-commerce. In fact, 1.9 million square feet of space is under construction in Central Florida, Cushman & Wakefield reported.
That comes as vacancy levels fall and leasing activity rises. Consider: Second-quarter leasing activity was 4.5 million square feet year to date, which was up 13.5% year-over-year, according to Cushman & Wakefield.
The northwest industrial submarket’s industrial space features a 9.3% average vacancy rate, which is higher than the Orlando-area average of 5.5%, Lee & Associates Central Florida reported. Meanwhile, the submarket’s direct weighted average asking rate is $5.68 per square foot, which is lower than the Orlando-area average of $7.77 per square foot.