ORLANDO-Indianapolis-based Duke Realty Corp. is building Crossroads VIII, a 187,513-sf speculative industrial/distribution facility at Crossroads Business Park at 601 Gills Dr. The building is expected to be completed in July.

The building, located along the Beachline Expressway in the SW/Regency submarket, will feature 30-ft clear ceiling heights, 138-ft truck courts and a cross-dock configuration. The general contractor on the project is Duke Construction and the architects are C4 Architecture. Duke senior industrial leasing/development representative Kyle Armentrout will market the property.

Duke's Orlando industrial portfolio, which consists of 1.7 million sf, is 100% leased. "Based on Duke's recent leasing activity, we believe the time is right for this building," says Duke Florida operations senior vice president Doug Irmscher. "The Orlando bulk warehouse market is approximately 95% leased, Duke's properties are 100% leased and Crossroads VIII has excellent access to the Florida Turnpike, the Bee-Line Expressway and Interstate 4."

Irmscher tells GlobeSt.com that leasing efforts on the property have started. "We don't have any commitments yet, but we expect to be 50% leased in the next 90 days," he says. "One of the prime draws of this property is its location in the south end of Orlando in the heart of the industrial area."

Duke also developed and owns Crossroads VII, a 233,700-sf distribution building in Crossroads Business Park. Duke owns another nine acres of land in Crossroads that is available for development.

According to a Grubb & Ellis Q4 Orlando industrial market report, Orlando has a total of 150 million sf of industrial space that was experiencing a 6.1% vacancy rate at the end of 2006. There was 3.25 million sf of absorption during the year and 1.6 million sf of new space under construction with average asking rates of $5.71 per sf for warehouse space and $11.22 per sf for flex space.