The city issued a permit April 29 for Midwest Industrial Funds to build an almost 337,000-square-foot speculative warehouse in West Jacksonville at a project cost of $23.9 million.
Arco Design/Build of Ponte Vedra Beach is the contractor for Building 100 at 9391 Pritchard Road in Midwest’s Westlake Commerce Center.
Midwest, of Oak Brook, Illinois, proposes a 336,960-square-foot Building 100 and a future 192,780-square-foot Building 200 on 30.23 acres.
A joint venture of PCCP LLC and Midwest Industrial Funds announced Jan. 9 it will develop the 337,000-square-foot speculative industrial building on Pritchard Road in Westlake Industrial Park.
The site is north of Pritchard Road and south of Jones Road.
The release said construction had begun with completion anticipated for December 2024. The city approved site clearing Feb. 7.
ADB Design Services of Atlanta is the architect. The project is a single-story, concrete tilt-up warehouse.
The release said the rear-loaded modern bulk property will feature 36-foot clear heights, a 190-foot truck court, ample trailer parking, 72 dock-high doors, 245 car parking spaces and 97 trailer parking spots.
It is near major distribution facilities including Southeast Toyota, FedEx, UPS, BMW, BJ’s Wholesale Club and Kraft Heinz. The land is east of the Georgia-Pacific warehouse.
Westlake is along Pritchard Road west of Interstate 295.
The project is 4 miles from I-295, which connects to I-95 and I-10, Jacksonville International Airport and the port of Jacksonville.
“We believe the strategic location is within a prime, high-growth, port-served industrial market that has consistently maintained tight vacancies,” said PCCP Managing Director Kevin Chin in the January release.
Chin said it is the fourth project together with Midwest Industrial Funds.
Los Angeles-based PCCP is a real estate finance and investment management firm focused on commercial real estate debt and equity investments. It has offices in New York, San Francisco, Atlanta and Los Angeles.
Midwest Industrial Funds is a national real estate investment company focused on the development and acquisition of industrial properties throughout the U.S.
As reported Jan. 4, Midwest Industrial Funds paid almost $3.54 million for the 30.23 acres. It bought the property from two owners.
Through Westlake Site 3 (Jacksonville) Owner LLC, Midwest bought 20.83 acres from Westlake Land Management Inc. on Dec. 18 for almost $2.62 million. Atlanta-based Westlake is part of Norfolk Southern Corp.
Through the same LLC, Midwest bought 9.4 acres from Edward E. Jenkins III and Rosemary A. Jenkins of Jacksonville on Dec. 15 for $920,000.
CIBC Bank USA of Illinois financed the deal with a $19.25 million mortgage.
On Dec. 22, Midwest Industrial Funds submitted civil engineering plans to the city for Buildings 100 and 200, totaling 529,740 square feet.
Jacksonville-based England-Thims & Miller Inc. is the civil engineer.
Midwest had not determined whether it will be for a single tenant or multiple tenants.
Midwest Industrial Funds said in January 2023 it planned to buy the property and develop a speculative warehouse.
“Jacksonville has emerged as a key Southeast industrial market with strong fundamentals and robust demand from users,” Matt Hubert, senior vice president of development, said by email in January 2023.
“Despite the economic challenges of 2023, there is a positive outlook moving forward and demand unequivocally remains strong from users and investors for the right size projects on well-located sites, which is what we are developing in Westlake.”
Hubert said Colliers Senior Vice President Guy Preston and Colliers Associate Seda Preston will be the project’s listing agents.