MEDLEY, FL-Uniform company Cintas Corp. has acquired a 6.1-acre site in the Pan American Business Park at the Florida Turnpike and Okeechobee Road where it plans to construct a 50,000-sf distribution facility. The land sold for $6.2 million, or $23 per sf.

Cintas is seeking approvals for the development and is hoping to break ground by the end of the year. The seller, Cardinal Commercial Development principal A.J. Suarez, was represented by Flagler Real Estate Services Inc. vice president of commercial sales & leasing George Pino. The buyer was represented by John Vaught, of CB Richard Ellis.

Pino tells GlobeSt.com Cintas selected the site because it is centrally located within the areas where the company delivers product. The site is close to the Miami International Airport, Port of Miami and Broward County. It is also close to the Palmetto Expressway and Dolphin Expressway. "This was the number one site for Cintas because it is a central point for the areas they deliver from Palm Beach to the north to the Florida Keys to the south," Pino says.

Pino adds that the transaction speaks to the value of developable sites in land-strapped Miami-Dade County. Cardinal had originally planned to develop a flex warehouse development on the site, but scrapped the plans after Cintas entered the market seeking a site for its distribution facility.

"To my knowledge this is one of the highest prices per sf for prime industrial land in that area," Pino says. "This sets a benchmark for land prices moving forward."