SOUTHEAST SNAPSHOT, JANUARY 2005

Jacksonville Industrial Market

Jeff L. Graham, SIOR President King Commercial Realty/ CORFAC International

Jacksonville, Florida’s industrial market is very stable, with speculative development somewhat limited, according to Jeff Graham, president of King Commercial Realty/CORFAC International.

“Jacksonville has attracted a lot of attention with regional and national developers,” says Graham. “The challenge is to overcome entry barriers that cause an extended development timeline. I would suggest that from the time that a site goes under contract till the time that you are able to start construction could be anywhere from 12 to 24 months. That extended timeline has caused many to consider other municipalities.”

In the industrial sector, most new development will take place on the west and north sides of the city, in and around the Interstate 295 perimeter. Land can still be purchased in those areas at a reasonable price for industrial projects.

Pattillo Construction has started construction on its new park, NorthPoint Industrial Park. This project is located in the northeast sector of Jacksonville, adjacent to 9A. Highway 9A will become the eastern edge of the city’s perimeter I-295 and is expected to be completed in 2005.

As for rental rates, 100,000-square-foot buildings with 2 percent office Class A distribution space lease in the $3.50 per square foot, triple-net range.

There is about 950,000 square feet of new or announced space on the market today. That accounts for about 1.2 percent of the total market. Second generation space has about 9.9 million square feet of vacancy, which accounts for about 12.9 percent of the market. King Commercial Realty/CORFAC International currently tracks 76.6 million square feet of distribution space and an additional 2.5 million square feet of service center space in the market.

“From and industrial point of view, with I-295 on the east side of Jacksonville nearing completion, I would watch the northeast sector of the city in and around I-295,” says Graham.

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