Lakeland industrial property sells for $22.25 million

LAKELAND, Fla. - Feb. 16, 2021 - PRLog -- Lex Lakeland LLC, an affiliate of Lexington Realty Trust, has purchased a 222,134-square-foot industrial property at 5275 Drane Field Road in Lakeland for $22.25 million. The newly constructed, stand-alone tilt-wall facility is located on 19.54 acres along the Interstate 4 corridor, less than a quarter-mile from County Line Road and 2.75 miles from I-4.

Ryan Vaught, Robyn Hurrell and Oliver de la Croix-Vaubois of Colliers represented the seller, Bobeck Real Estate. The buyer, a New York-based real estate investment trust (REIT) that also acquired a 617,000-square-foot Amazon Distribution Center in Ocala last July, was self-represented.

At the time of the sale, the Lakeland property was 52.9% leased, to Motion Industries, which occupies 117,440 square feet.

"The buyer's willingness to acquire a property at 53% occupancy speaks to the strength of the industrial sector and the demand throughout the I-4 corridor for logistics occupiers," said Ryan Vaught, Executive Managing Director, Industrial Services for Colliers. "This acquisition aligns with the trend we're seeing of industrial investors being willing to take a risk in buying vacancy in order to get a discount compared to the pricing of stabilized Class A core assets."

According to Vaught, this acquisition also signals the significant market movement that Lakeland has experienced in the last couple of years. For example, a similar industrial property that was 50% occupied at the time of sale in 2018 traded for $82 per square foot. This recent sale on Drane Field Road traded for over $100 per square foot.

"What's interesting is seeing the amount of qualified interest for an asset in Lakeland, even with the occupancy only being 53%," Vaught said. "It's further evidence of the compelling amount of capital in the industrial market right now."

The types of companies that have taken space along the I-4 corridor the past six months include consumer products, food and beverage, third-party logistics, farm and garden equipment, and pharmaceutical and medical device distribution. Amazon has also recently taken over 800,000 square feet of industrial space in this area.

About Colliers International

Colliers International (NASDAQ, TSX: CIGI) is a leading diversified professional services and investment management company. With operations in 68 countries, our more than 15,000 enterprising professionals work collaboratively to provide expert advice to maximize the value of property for real estate occupiers, owners and investors. For more than 25 years, our experienced leadership, owning approximately 40% of our equity, has delivered compound annual investment returns of almost 20% for shareholders. In 2019, corporate revenues were more than $3.0 billion ($3.5 billion including affiliates), with $33 billion of assets under management in our investment management segment.