MIAMI—New investment just keeps pouring into South Florida's industrial market—and JLL is seeing some of the new development leasing action. The firm will handle leasing for the brand new Turnpike 1 Business Park in Homestead, FL.

Turnpike 1 Business Park is the first speculative warehouse product to rise in the Homestead area in many years. The master plan for the industrial and business park has 1.6 million square feet of space.

JLL managing director Steven Medwin executive vice president Nick Wigoda, and associate Matt Maciag, who lead the firm's industrial practice in Miami, are handling leasing efforts on behalf of GBX Capital, a real estate and development group from Sao Paulo, Brazil. Turnpike 1 represents the entity's first development in the US.

“Turnpike 1 Business Park in Homestead will offer businesses in Miami an alternative to higher priced industrial hubs experiencing significant traffic congestion,” says Medwin. “The property's location will provide easy access to a variety of amenities and major highways, while offering more competitive leasing rates. The industrial space will appeal to existing and new-to-market tenants seeking a location in the Southern portion of Miami-Dade County, away from the traffic congestion of areas such as Medley and Doral.”

The construction of Turnpike 1 Business Park comes at a time when Miami is seeing significant demand for industrial space, driving the need for additional new inventory. The first phase is a 35,000-square-foot spec industrial building that will feature 30-foot clear ceiling height, dock high loading and build-to-suit office space.

GBX (Global Business Exchange) is a group of Brazilian entrepreneurs and business executives that specialize in a variety of areas, including structured financing, asset management, market research and analysis, risk management, and project management. In Brazil, the firm just opened an 80-room hotel with a VIP lounge at Sao Paulo International Airport and is starting construction of Osasco City Hall inside its multi-purpose complex Estação Osasco Corporate Center, consisting of a shopping mall, four business towers, medical center with a hospital and diagnostics center, four residential buildings totaling 1,000 apartment units and 5,500 parking spaces with a subway station.

“We see the Miami industrial market ripe for new industrial and office space development and our project will help offer new, high quality space at affordable prices to meet the demands of both local and international businesses,” says Bret Bobo, GBX managing director in the USA. “This the first phase of the master-planned business park we are developing in Homestead and we have assembled an experienced team to carry the project forward.”

Construction of the new business park is set to launch in the fourth quarter of this year. Turnpike 1 will sit at the intersection of Southwest 336th Street and 147th Avenue, between Miami and the Florida Keys. The business park will provide access to the area's major transportation arteries, the Florida Turnpike and US 1.

Bruce W. Retzsch of RLC Architects is designing the project. Hernandez Construction will build the first spec building. Hernandez specializes in commercial and industrial construction and has delivered over 1.3 million square feet in the past two years and has another 500,000 square feet under construction in Miami-Dade and Broward counties.

JLL has been on an industrial lease streak. The firm just won a $103 million industrial portfolio gig that spans five industrial assets and 1.7 million square feet in Pinellas County. JLL also just landed the exclusive leasing assignment from Pattillo Industrial Real Estate for two industrial parks in Jacksonville.