Murphy feels he has a good shot at filling the two other assets, particularly vacant bulk warehouse space. "New bulk warehouse development appears to have slowed somewhat, subsequent to the completion of two major developments," he tells GlobeSt.com.

Those properties are CrownPointe One and CrownPointe Two, containing 400,000 sf of bulk developed by McDonald Development of Atlanta and Cypress Park East's 365,000 sf developed by CalEast Industrial Development.

"Some developers have begun to focus outside of the Orlando metro area, toward the Interstate 4 corridor between Orlando and Tampa, following the success of such projects as Florida Central Park," a bulk warehouse product developed by Robert Pattillo Properties, Murphy notes.

He is currently concentraing on his three newly-won contracts at Cypress Park East, West Park and Sunport Commerce Center. Cypress Park East, a four-building, 450,000-sf joint venture of CalEast Industrial Development comprised of CalPers and LaSalle Investors, is within Cypress Park in the south Orlando submarket. Two bulk buildings are leasing for $4.70 per sf gross; a flex/office/warehouse structure is asking $7.25 per sf gross; and an office service center building is leasing for $12.27 per sf gross. No leases have been signed to date.

At WestPark, an 11-building, 512,000-sf flex development in the 33rd Street submarket, Murphy has brought the occupancy level to 95%. The project, owned by Lend Lease, rents for $5.50 per sf on a gross basis and consists of front office, front load and dock-high office/warehouse space.

Sunport Commerce Center, a four-building, 160,00-sf service center and flex venture, developed by Adler Development Co and completed in December, has three tenants taking a total 12,000 sf. The property is on Sand Lake Road near Orlando International Airport.

"Several leases for larger tenants are out for signature," Murphy says. Service center space is going for $11.75 per sf gross; flex, $7.50 per sf gross.

The broker notes strong developer competition for the bulk industrial product. Among the big-name players are Duke-Weeks Realty Corp., in Orlando Central Park South and Cincinnati-based Corporex Cos. at Crossroads Distribution Center. On the flex side, Murphy says several new projects are competing for users in the south Orlando marketplace. Among the developers are CalEast at Cypress Park East; Liberty Property Trust at SouthCenter; EastGroup at Sunport Park; Duke-Weeks at LeeVista; and Atlanta-based Seefried Properties at Airport Distribution Center.

Murphy feels the overall industrial market in Orlando is healthy, based on current numbers. The vacancy level is 7.21% out of an inventory of 82.75 million sf of rentable space. Another one million sf is under construction, well below the net absorption rate of three million sf in 2000.

Instant Insights /

CB Richard Ellis's Murphy Wins Three Exclusive Leasing Agent Contracts from Big-Name Owners

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