ORLANDO—For all the talk about Orlando's rising industrial market, Jacksonville is not doing too shabby in north Florida. Considering what comes from the north often flows through Central Florida and down to South Florida, strategic deals in Jacksonville are worth noting.

Westside Industrial Park, a 5.5-million-square-foot development located off Pritchard Road, and the 1.5-million-square-foot NorthPoint Industrial Park, are two assets to watch. JLL just landed the exclusive leasing assignment from Pattillo Industrial Real Estate for the two parks. JLL vice president Luke Pope, who leads the firm's industrial practice in Jacksonville, will oversee the leasing efforts.

Westside Industrial Park is located on Port Jacksonville Parkway. The parks are the first leasing assignment to be outsourced from Pattillo Industrial in Florida as the firm moves to increase focus on acquisitions and new development.

“The current market called for a shift in our real estate strategy,” says Peter Anderson, Vice President at Pattillo Industrial Real Estate. He says working with JLL will allow his firm to “focus our energy on new development and asset acquisition.”

Westside Industrial Park is the largest industrial park in Northeast Florida and home to many of the largest companies doing business in Jacksonville, such as BMW of North America, WW Grainger, and Kraft Foods. Availabilities across the two parks range from 6,000 to 237,000 square feet, the latter representing the only speculative building currently under construction in Jacksonville.

“Westside and NorthPoint Industrial Parks can accommodate a wide range of industrial users, offering quick access to major highways, ports and airports,” says Pope. “With market conditions continuing to tighten and increasing demand for quality space in strategic locations, we expect interest from prospective tenants to remain strong.”

According to JLL's Q1 Industrial Outlook for the Jacksonville market, market conditions are expected to tighten through the remainder of 2015, as economic activity in the region is expected to show continued improvement. The report also highlights that new developments at the Port of Jacksonville, such as the pending completion of the new Intermodal Container Transfer Facility, will help reduce transportation costs for existing industrial users and play a key role in attracting new demand to the area.

Meanwhile, we've seen two huge deals in Central Florida. A 955,000-square-foot industrial campus in Tampa, FL, just traded hands right after a massive industrial portfolio in Saint Petersburg sold for $103 million.

“These assets are situated in irreplaceable infill locations in the most densely populated county in Florida,” Cushman & Wakefield executive director Mike Davis, tells GlobeSt.com. “This extraordinarily land-constrained market is prohibitive to new development, creating conditions for strong rental growth for existing properties.”