Baltimore-based development company intends to construct two buildings totaling 350,000 square feet of distribution/manufacturing space with work starting immediately
Taylor J. Fields, Vice President of Leasing; Jannine B. Hayes, Commercial Leasing Representative; James F. Knott, Jr., President
Knott Realty Group, a full-service commercial real estate development company headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland, has announced the acquisition of approximately twenty-seven acres of land adjacent to Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Myers, Florida. The company plans to construct two speculative buildings suitable for distribution, manufacturing or warehousing applications, totaling nearly 350,000 square feet of space.Site work is expected to begin immediately on the first of these two projects. Knott Realty Group purchased the site from Meridian Airport Park, LLC with the sales prices undisclosed.
Named Meridian Center, the development is positioned at 10400 Meridian Center Parkway off of Ben Hill Griffin Parkway in Lee County. Interstate 75 can be directly accessed from the industrial park, with Southwest Florida International Airport located approximately one mile away. The transportation hub services Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Sanibel, Greater Naples, Marco Island, Charlotte Harbor and the Gulf Islands.
Knott Realty Group will initially construct a single-story, 200,000 square foot Class “A” distribution/manufacturing building equipped with 32’ ceiling heights, multiple drive-in and loading dock doors with a truck court depth of approximately 130 feet and parking accommodations for more than 350 vehicles. The building, which will be constructed with reinforced concrete to handle heavy loads, is expected to be delivered in summer 2018. Following completion of the first building, Knott Realty Group expects to initiate construction on the second building, comprising 150,000 of additional square feet of space, within the next year.
“We have been closely monitoring the commercial real estate marketplace in southwest Florida and believe conditions are ideal to proceed with speculative development; leveraging low vacancy levels and emerging drivers of space requirements,” explained Taylor J. Fields, Vice President of Leasing for Knott Realty Group. “The residential industry, which represents a key economic barometer in this section of Florida, continues to gain momentum and remains extremely healthy. The reach of this industry is wide and positively impacts numerous manufacturing, retail and service-oriented companies. The need for large blocks of space servicing the rapidly-expanding e-commerce sector continue to appear, which represents another attractive end-user for these two buildings.”
In 2006, Knott Realty Group delivered four flex/office and distribution buildings at 7916 Drew Circle in the Fort Myers area totaling approximately 216,000 square feet of space, with occupancy currently standing at approximately 88%. The company is also developing a multi-family residential community in the area.
“The strategic location of this site is what first attracted our attention. Our team recognizes the outstanding vitality of southwest Florida and we intend to remain extremely aggressive in our pursuit of additional development opportunities,” Fields added.
Knott Realty Group is a full-service commercial real estate development, management and investment company with more than 4.2 million square feet of commercial office, warehouse and industrial space throughout the Maryland, Florida and South Carolina markets. The company, which has also developed and currently manages residential communities throughout the Mid-Atlantic region, maintains in-house development, property management, construction and leasing services. For additional information, visit www.KnottRealty.com.
