When one door opens, so does another.
Dan Webb, president of Imeson International Industrial Park Inc., said the pending sale of 156 acres to VanTrust Real Estate LLC will provide funds for more development at the North Jacksonville industrial center.
VanTrust contracted to buy the acreage and says the sale should close soon. Webb said he hopes to complete the deal in 30 days.
While neither disclosed the purchase price, the sale will provide money for Webb to further build at the former airport site at northeast Main Street and Heckscher Drive.
VanTrust intends to build 3 million square feet of industrial and warehouse space among three to six buildings.
Webb said the purchase leaves Imeson with about 350 acres to sell or develop.
He currently is building a 140,000-square-foot speculative building at 10531 Busch Drive for completion in November. A second phase of 182,520 square feet would expand the structure to almost 323,000 square feet.
Webb also plans for another building that could start at 240,000 square feet and be expanded to 480,000 square feet. That will be at the entrance of the park at Busch Drive.
Webb said the CBRE Inc. real estate firm presented VanTrust’s interest, “and we decided it would be a good synergy for both of us.”
The VanTrust sale also brings more marketing power to the park, Webb said.
“And it gives us the ability to reinvest some dollars in the infrastructure and new buildings in the park,” he said.
Webb wants to see the park built-out at 90 percent over the next 20 years. It’s about 50 percent completed now with more than 8 million square feet of space.
The additional marketing power “will help us reach that goal,” Webb said.
Webb said his group will focus on smaller projects of 100,000 to 400,000 square feet.
“We are looking for customers and tenants,” he said. “The market seems to be pretty good so we are designing another speculative building.”
He said there’s been a lot of interest in the 140,000-square-foot structure.
In January 2017, property records show that Imeson International Industrial Park Inc. entities sold 14 buildings at the park for almost $89 million. The left Webb with 500 acres.
Webb International began developing the industrial park after it bought the land about 1970. Webb said previously the company bought 1,200 acres.
His father, William C. Webb, started the business. When the older Webb retired, Dan, the second son, took over management of the Orlando and Jacksonville properties and is now sole owner.
