ORLANDO—CNL Commercial Real Estate is throwing down the industrial gauntlet in Florida. The firm just hired industrial commercial real estate veteran Justin Ruby to help grown its platform in the Sunshine State.

Ruby brings 13 years of commercial real estate experience to CNL's table. He recently relocated from Houston to Orlando to lead the firm's industrial charge.

“We are thrilled that somebody of Justin's talent was drawn to the CNL Commercial Real Estate platform,” says Paul Ellis, group president of CNL Commercial. “In addition to his strong background in real estate, he is a great cultural fit to partner with Moses to build out our industrial platform.”

Ruby will partner with industry expert, Moses Salcido, who joined the firm last year. Together, the duo will be the forefront for one of CNL Commercial's newest industrial clients, L&B Realty Advisors.

The L&B portfolio includes four institutional quality, cross-dock industrial buildings totaling 947,122 square feet located in Orlando Central Park, the city's prime industrial corridor. Ruby will head up leasing efforts on the remaining space available.

Before joining CNL, Ruby was vice president at Verde Realty, managing its 2.5 million-square-foot industrial and 20,000-acre land portfolio in the Southwest. Originally from Orlando, he started his real estate career with Centex Destination Properties. Throughout his career, Ruby has closed over $435 million in real estate transactions and leased more than 2 million square feet.