ORLANDO—Central Florida's commercial real estate industry is booming. And that's an understatement. Once proof point is CREC recently adding over 1 million square feet of commercial real estate space to its portfolio in Central Florida.

GlobeSt.com caught up with Josh Busby to get his thoughts on the region's growing commercial real estate market, as well as CREC's continued interest and expansion within Central Florida. With over 10 years of commercial leasing experience in Central Florida, Busby joined CREC in 2011 as vice president and leads the firm's retail leasing activity across this region.

GlobeSt.com: What market fundamentals in Central Florida have prompted CREC to expand its footprint in this market?

Busby: Florida is an extremely desirable real estate market right now, with strong interest from both domestic and international investors. CREC's strong reputation in the South Florida market has allowed for its expansion in other areas of the state, with Central Florida the example of that growth. We are very active today in submarkets such as Polk, Marion, Brevard and Volusia counties, as well as the Orlando area.

GlobeSt.com: With your knowledge and focus on the Central Florida market, what submarkets do you see with the most growth potential today?

Busby: We are seeing tremendous growth within the West Melbourne, Palm Bay and Ocala submarkets, with occupancy rates increasing across these neighborhoods. Take West Melbourne, where new residential developments are creating demand for grocery brands such as specialty supermarket The Fresh Market.

In Brevard County, NASA is hiring new workers and the jobs from Kennedy Space Center are shifting south, driving demand for housing and retail services. Accessibility is the primary factor contributing to this trend as residents are seeking retail services near where they live.

In Palm Bay, the vacancies in big-box retail spaces represent a new opportunity for national credit tenants to move in, such as discount retailer Dollar Tree. While Ocala is not seeing as much new development activity as the other submarkets, investors are acquiring existing retail properties to redevelop or upgrade to accommodate new uses.

In other Central Florida news, Tampa Bay's industrial spec scene just hit a significant milestone. And for Florida hotels, it's the perfect storm.