ORLANDO—As RealShare Central Florida approaches, CBRE senior vice president of Industrial Properties David Murphy is preparing to share in the Transactions in Focus panel. A large part of what's on his plate is the CSX's new Central Florida Intermodal Logistics Center.

GlobeSt.com caught up with Murphy to discuss that, as well as the broader Orlando industrial market in part one of this exclusive interview. Be sure to come back to this afternoon's Southeast edition for part two, where Murphy will talk more in-depth about the Central Florida Intermodal Logistics Center's challenges and impacts.

GlobeSt.com: Orlando seems to be in the midst of an industrial boom – how would you describe the market?

Murphy: It is fun to be an industrial broker in Orlando again! We have multiple speculative projects under construction, and we are seeing interest in developable land. The investment market has been constrained by a lack of product coming out to the market. This is a great time to sell. I am seeing unsolicited letters of intent on a regular basis for existing product, particularly well-located class A and B multi-tenant properties. 

GlobeSt.com: What type of new tenants are you seeing in the market?

Murphy: Velocity is a little slow in the 30,000- to 80,000-square-foot range. We seem to have activity on the edges, small users in the 5,000- to 15,000-square-foot range, and large statewide distribution users north of 100,000 square feet. The most prominent tenants in the market are coming from the food, pharmaceutical, e-commerce, and residential construction industries.

GlobeSt.com: What does CSX's new Central Florida Intermodal Logistics Center (ILC) signify for Florida?

Murphy: We've never had a real intermodal terminal in Florida before. Intermodal transportation will improve the state's supply chain and give users from the other parts of the country a better option for locating a distribution site in Florida.

The first 407,400-square-foot building out of eight structures totaling more than 8 million square feet breaks ground in October. The intermodal terminal comes along at the right time because we are seeing an increased demand from users trying to deliver product on a statewide basis as efficiently as possible. 

GlobeSt.com: What makes this rail project different from previous ones?

Murphy: Rail has re-invented itself as a clean, environmentally-friendly, reliable and cost-effective method of transporting goods and services. As distributors clamor for same-day delivery, we are seeing that having a very large distribution center in Central Florida coupled with a smaller satellite facility servicing South Florida is becoming a more popular business model.