Speedway to Become Industrial Site

(Carl Cronan is editor of Real EstateFlorida.)

LAKELAND, FL-A week after dropping the checkered flag on its last race, USA International Speedway has been sold to New York-based Rockefeller Group Development Corp. for redevelopment as an industrial site. The price of the 113-acre expanse along State Road 33 north of Interstate 4 was not disclosed.

Rockefeller Group plans to build more than a million sf of distribution space geared toward big-box tenants. Lakeland, midway between Tampa and Orlando on I-4, is nationally recognized as a major distribution hub with numerous warehouses bearing widely recognized corporate logos.

“Central Florida is quickly becoming a prime distribution center for the state, replacing regional distribution hubs such as Atlanta,” Edgar Jones, vice president and regional development officer for Rockefeller Group in Miami, stated in a release. He notes that the company is confident in the region’s long-term potential and is seeking other development opportunities.

Rockefeller Group owns other industrial properties in New Jersey and California, with its only other current Florida property being the mixed-use Miramar Town Center. It plans to start development of the new Lakeland distribution center early next year.

USA International Speedway hosted numerous minor-league stock car races on its three-quarter-mile track, including the Hooters Pro Cup Series, from 1995 until its last event Aug. 2. An auction of buildings and equipment at the site was scheduled over the weekend.