SARASOTA, FL-Connecticut-based wholesale distributor United Natural Foods Inc. has leased 400,000 sf at Meridian Distribution Center.

This is the second major lease at the property in May. Earlier in the month Beall's Inc., the parent company of Beall's Department Stores Inc., Beall's Outlet Stores Inc. and Burke's Outlet Stores Inc., signed a 200,000-sf lease. United Natural Foods is a wholesale distributor to the natural and organic foods industry. Meridian Distribution Center is owned by Clearwater- based Meridian Development Group.

With the two leases, the property is 65% occupied, Meridian Development Group managing director Steven Kossoff tells GlobeSt.com. United Natural Foods selected the space based on an analysis demonstrating the property's viability as a distribution location. "The facility provides direct access to 87% of the state's population in one day versus 61% from Lakeland," Kossoff says. "Companies are realizing Lakeland is no longer the only option for easy statewide distribution."

Meridian acquired the property in January 2006 in a $30-million joint venture with Hudson Realty Capital LLC. The 907,000-sf facility was a former Winn-Dixie distribution center. More than $2.5 million was spent to convert the facility from a single tenant to a multi-tenant property. Among reasons for acquiring the property were its close proximity to Hillsborough and Manatee counties and access to north and south Florida by Interstate 75. The property is located one mile from the Clark Road exit off Interstate 75, Kossoff says.

Meridian plans to continue investing in the Southeast, with a concentration on Central and West Florida. The company's goal is to acquire five million sf of value-add investments over the next five years.