ORLANDO—Orlando is landlocked. As such, the city and the region are making great strides as a logistics hub in Florida. 

But where does Jaxport fit in? What do industrial users need to know about Jacksonville that they may not have considered? And what impact with the Panama Canal Expansion have when it opens, likely in April 2016?

GlobeSt.com caught up with Terry R. Quarterman, first vice president of CBRE Industrial Properties in Jacksonville, to get his thoughts on these and other questions in part two of our exclusive interview. You can still read part one:

GlobeSt.com: The Panama Canal Expansion Project is scheduled to open in April 2016. JaxPort is looking at ways to handle larger ships. How will that change impact the need for local warehouse space?

Quarterman: It's too soon to tell. The funding for the deepening of the channel is not yet in place, so it's wait and see.

The Army Corp of Engineers recently kicked off construction of the Mile Point project, which will remove a navigational hazard in the St. Johns River. Once Mile Point is completed, it will allow cargo vessels 24-hour access to the channel rather than only entering or exiting the channel at high tide.

GlobeSt.com: Do you expect to see more spec development on the horizon?

Quarterman:In Jacksonville, there are only two large spec developers, Hillwood Investment Properties, and Pattillo Industrial Real Estate.

Hillwood is the master developer of the 4,474-acre AllianceFlorida at Cecil Commerce Center. Hillwood began construction of a 510,000-square-foot spec warehouse in 2014 that was subsequently leased to GE Oil and Gas by CBRE. Pattillo currently has under construction a 237,000-square-foot, $6 million spec warehouse.

Since 2009, there have been only two spec developments of 100,000 square feet or greater. Jacksonville has yet to see the increased velocity of leasing activity of other major Southeast markets over the past several year. We will probably see little if any new spec development until vacancy rates fall below 5% and lease rates increase by 10% to 15% above current levels.

GlobeSt.com: What's one key factor that industrial users might not know about Jacksonville?

Quarterman: Numerous auto manufacturers have major distribution centers in Jacksonville. Mercedes-Benz USA has a 510,000-square-foot multi-purpose training facility. Volkswagen has 236,000-square-foot facility,, BMW has a 250,000-square-foot facility, Volvo has a 170,000-square-foot facility, and Toyota has a 350,000-square-foot facility here as well.

Volkswagen ships more vehicles to Florida than any state except California. Southeast Toyota has a large vehicle processing facility on 250 acres in west Jacksonville.

The site also features one of the largest automotive training and technical support facilities in the country. Jacksonville's strategic location as a hub to the Southeast, which along with its port, are the two major reasons for auto distribution centers to be located here.