MIAMI—Tampa-based Elco Landmark Residential is snapping up multifamily properties back to back to back. After completing a $100 million worth of transactions in December, the company has acquired another portfolio in a joint venture.

When an underground tunnel connecting PortMiami and Interstate 395 is completed in 2014, flatbed trucks hauling cargo containers will be able to travel from Miami to Massachusetts without passing through a single traffic light. Nearby, a restored rail link connecting the Port with the Florida East Coast Railway will enable the transfer of up to 200 containers at a time, a far cry from the one-by-one loading process underway today.

ORLANDO—Although Downtown Miami has been the story in Florida's commercial real estate renaissance over the past year, Central and North Florida are seeing renewed interest from investors and the brokerage firms that serve them. Several commercial real estate service firms have either opened offices or expanded their presence in Central Florida to tap into the opportunities they see from Tampa to Orlando and Jacksonville.