MIAMI—PortMiami is preparing for the giant cargo ships that will start traversing a deeper, wider Panama Canal in 2015. How will the increased number of containers affect the industrial market in South Florida? And how competitive will Miami be with other ports in Florida and the United States?

GlobeSt.com caught up with, Edward W. Easton, chairman of The Easton Group in Miami, to get some answers. With four decades of experience in commercial real estate and a solid focus on the industrial market, he has some clear thoughts on where we're headed.

GlobeSt.com: Just how massive are the preparations for the expansion of the Panama Canal?

Easton: The upgrades are major, about $2 billion in total. The PortMiami paid $43 million for four super-sized cranes that can handle cargo ships that each carry up to 18,000 containers versus 8,000 today.

Local government is spending $550 million on a tunnel that will enable tractor-trailers to go from the port directly to Interstate 95. Government entities are spending $122 million to deepen the PortMiami channel to 50 feet; that will make the port only one of three on the East Coast at that depth and the only one south of Norfolk, VA. The Florida East Coast Railway connector to the port is coming back on line.

GlobeSt.com: What's the likely impact on South Florida of these massive improvements?

Easton: We should see at least a 3% improvement in the local industrial economy. There will be more industrial park tenants as more goods pass through the port and are distributed in in the northeast corridor of the United States or shipped to Latin America.

The Asia Pacific region accounts for 35% of port trade now and that should double once the canal and port are enlarged. As a result, existing companies will expand and new companies will open here to hold that cargo until it's distributed.

GlobeSt.com: How will the increased activity affect the industrial market?

Easton: Initially, rents will go up from the current average of about $7 per square foot. Once we get to a full position from the current 94% occupancy rate, developers will start construction. However, the rents on these new buildings will be higher because of higher land and operating costs. I predict we will see rents of $9 per square foot within three years.

GlobeSt.com: Will higher rents send companies looking for cheaper space?

Easton: No. Tenants won't move out of Miami-Dade County because any savings from lower rents would be more than offset by higher trucking costs. Plus, Port Everglades and Port of Palm Beach don't have the infrastructure.

Just as important, the international market operates here, not in Broward and Palm Beach. Companies in Latin and South America are comfortable doing business in Miami for language and cultural reasons.