ORLANDO—McCraney Property Company has been betting big on industrial spec development in Orlando. It's already paying off.

McCraney secured a new lease for 99,214 square feet 60 days prior to Certificate of Occupancy (CO) at Bent Oak Industrial Park, Building 200, in Orlando. The transaction with Shepard Exposition Services, an Atlanta-headquartered national event service enterprise focusing on trade shows and experiential marketing, represents a relocation and expansion in Central Florida market.

“In the past 12 months, we've begun to realize a significant change in the overall demand and economics within Central Florida, and although highly frothy, only represents the very beginning of what lies ahead,” says Steven McCraney, president and CEO of McCraney. “Industrial demand is gearing up to outpace supply, a trend will continue throughout the year and into 2016.”

It seems McCraney was ahead of the curve on the Orlando industrial front, recognizing early on that tenants would want to expand and sign for longer terms. The Bent Oak lease comes at the heels of a new 42,839-square-foot lease transaction with Tampa-headquartered DEX Imaging completed at its John Young Parkway industrial asset. Bent Oak is close to 50% leased prior to construction completion.

“The importance of industrial product is altering due to the transforming landscape of commerce and the increasing number of companies seeking modern spaces in line with their business model, positioning them for future growth,” McCraney says. “We were able to forecast these market shifts in advance, and as such, we anticipate high activity to continue within Bent Oak Industrial Park and other new developments.”

Located at the highly desirable Beachline Expressway-Florida Turnpike interchange, Bent Oak Industrial Park sits on 39 acres and consists of two class A high-finish industrial buildings at 1701 and 1801 Boice Pond Road, spanning 703,920 square feet. Matt Sullivan, managing director and principal with Cite Partners, represented McCraney during the latest transaction at the property.

“It's easy to distribute around Florida from Orlando,” McCraney told an audience at the recent RealShare Central Florida event in Orlando. “It makes sense—the rail, the airport, the economy is growing here. It's all good stuff. I like the area around the airport area and Southeast Orlando is growing up nicely.”