ORLANDO—Demand for commercial real estate from e-commerce retailers, parcel delivery firms, and transportation and logistics companies in Central Florida is expected to surge over the next three years. In fact, it's hit an all time high in 2014, according to a new report from CBRE.

“The Emergence of a Regional Logistics Hub,” describes factors that are attracting e-commerce retailers, and the companies that support them, to Central Florida. Those factors include strong population growth, a sophisticated transportation and logistics infrastructure, and an abundance of well-located, affordable industrial space.

"Amazon put the Central Florida region back on the map for large distribution centers. Between Orlando and Tampa, there is now a huge demand for warehouse space," Rian Smith, first vice president of CBRE Tampa, Industrial, tells GlobeSt.com. "We're seeing those large e-commerce distribution users focusing on the I-4 corridor for a number of reasons, including population growth, improving economic conditions, and increased consumer spending.”

According to the report, e-commerce retailers are expected to occupy an additional 3.4 million square feet of industrial space in Central Florida over the next three years. Parcel delivery firms are expected to occupy an additional 800,000 square feet of space, while transportation and logistics companies could occupy as much as 860,000 of additional space between 2015 and the end of 2017.

“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,” David Murphy, senior vice president at CBRE  Orlando, Industrial, tells GlobeSt.com. More than 44 million square feet of industrial space is proposed for development in Hillsborough and Polk Counties.

“Sophisticated warehouse and supply chain experts already know how intermodal transportation can reduce costs, and major companies have been reaching out to us to learn more about the options of locating there,” says Murphy. “There's a major difference between what we had in the past and what we have now. Using intermodal is like driving on a highway versus a two-lane road.”

Other attributes that position Central Florida positively as major logistics hub, according to the report, include the fact that Florida added about 713 new residents every day between 2010 and 2014, and more than 100 million tourists are expected to visit the state in 2015. What's more, a new intermodal terminal in Winter Haven, FL connects the state to markets including Chicago, New York, Memphis and Atlanta, and major southeastern ports. And Florida ranks fourth among US states in terms of growth in personal consumption expenditures.

“Central Florida is in many ways a logical location for a regional logistic hub, as it lies in the geographic center of one of the most populous states,” says Quinn Eddins, director of Research and Analysis at CBRE Florida. “By locating here, e-commerce retailers are giving themselves the capacity to service 18.4 million consumers with same-day or next-day delivery, which is a standard toward which many retailers are moving.”