McCraney Bets on Davenport Spec Industrial

ORLANDO—McCraney Property Company just broke ground on the only spec industrial new construction building in Davenport, FL. The location is significant because it sits at the crossroads of Tampa, FL and Orlando.

McCraney is developing the industrial building via a partnership with Northwestern Mutual. The 603,000 square feet of spec industrial space includes two buildings at Park27, an industrial park located at the northwest quadrant of Interstate 4 and US Highway 27 in Davenport.

"While traditional retail relies on sales people, online retail relies on speed of logistics," Steven McCraney, president and CEO of McCraney, tells Globest.com. "Modern supply chain solutions are a complex web of distribution facilities, anchored by a series of regional big box hubs and supported by a network of light industrial properties that serve a crucial mid-point in the delivery of goods to the end user—be it a retail location, manufacturing plant or the front door of an online customer. Warehouse is the new retail, and the key to the future is logistics."

Forecasting today's growth in Central Florida years ago, McCraney developed 1.1 million square feet of industrial product designed to accommodate the needs to e-commerce and distribution tenants now and tomorrow. McCraney is confident that the market will respond to its next phase of industrial development.

The first industrial building at Park27 will span 189,000 square feet. The second industrial building will be 414,000 square feet, and serve as the only multi-tenant spec space available in the immediate area that can accommodate a 300,000-plus square foot user with trailer storage.

"Trends come and go, however, purposeful development will sustain," says McCraney. "Our approach to development has always been to provide the best product possible at the time of need. Often, that is achieved by building spec product at the right time at the right place with the right people."

The existing portion of Park27 serves as a distribution location for Amazon, Best Buy, Ford Motor Company and hhgregg. Located next to the Park is Walmart's planned 2 million square foot e-commerce distribution center and a new 310,000 square foot distribution center for FedEx Ground Shipping Services.

"As we saw recently with the lease signed to Freeman Expositions for 451,823 square feet, large users are in the market," says McCraney. "As the economy continues to improve, and the industrial market tightens, quality space at any size requirement will become scarce. We are confident that the location of Park27 at Florida's crossroad, the intersection of Tampa and Orlando along the highway connecting South Florida to Tallahassee, will heed market demand."