MIAMI-The industrial market in Miami-Dade County is picking up,says Eric Swanson, executive vice president at Flagler based inCoral Gables. One indication of the upswing is a report in the July21st issue of the online newsletter Real Estate Alert, that TAAssociates Realty, which owns the 881,000 square foot PalmettoDistribution Center in west Miami-Dade, has a contract to sell theproperty to AMB Property for $67 million. The five-buildingcomplex, which is about five miles from Miami InternationalAirport, was built from 1992 through 1997 and has an occupancy rateof 95%.

The cap rate on the AMB deal is just under 6%, which is veryattractive, says Swanson. There has been lots of interest in thisproperty, which is about to trade at $75 per square foot, hesays.

“The (Palmetto Distribution Center deal) is the biggest salethat has happened in a while,” says Swanson. In April, IDI, in ajoint venture with institutional investors advised by J.P. MorganAsset Management, sold four of the six buildings in the 1.1 millionsquare foot Weston Business Center in Weston, Fla. near Ft.Lauderdale, for $65 million, or $96 per square foot. “These are theonly two big sales which have occurred recently,” he says . “Butthey are indications that values for high quality properties remainhigh,“ says Swanson.