AMB Property Corp. plans to develop approximately one million sf of space on the site, in a project to be called AMB I-75 Business Center, with a groundbreaking planned for mid-2009.

The land is bordered by Interstate 75 to the east, 170th Street to the north and 97th Street to the west. It is one of the last remaining major parcels of undeveloped property in the Interstate 75 North corridor, an area viewed as the last frontier for large commercial development in Miami-Dade County.

"The land is in a virgin area," Cushman & Wakefield industrial broker Brian Smith tells GlobeSt.com. "Access to the land is through a dirt road. I haven't seen that in 10 years." Smith and C&W industrial broker Wayne Ramoski represented Shoma Development.

Shoma Development acquired the site in 2001 for residential use, but was persuaded by the county to rezone the land for industrial use due to its close proximity to rock mining operations. "Once the land was rezoned to industrial, it made sense to sell because of the prices for land," Smith says.

The land is in close proximity Interstate 75, the Florida Turnpike, Palmetto Expressway and Gratigny Parkway and has direct access to the Miami Airport and Port of Miami.

AMB's current portfolio consists of more than seven million sf of industrial space in Miami-Dade County. Leasing efforts have not yet started for the project, but it is expected to attract bulk distribution users, Smith says.