Pitching the space to area industrial real estate brokers, Republic Property Co. President Jerry Daws said Wednesday that once the remaining space in the first Crossroads Distribution Center building is leased, he is prepared to start construction of a second one.
"As soon as we have this leased up, we'll start another building," Daws said at the 6600 Pritchard Road structure.
The property is south of Pritchard Road and east of the Interstate 295 West Beltway.
JanPak Inc. recently leased 84,244 square feet of the 126,056-square-foot building. The remainder is available to tenants needing 20,706 to 41,812 square feet of space.
Republic, based in Atlanta, built the structure, Building 200, three years ago, Daws said. Site plans show space for three more structures — 100,000, 150,000 and 300,000 square feet in size.
Daws said he likely would start next on the 150,000-square-foot building, which could be speculative or a build-to-suit. The largest is being held for a build-to-suit user, which is a company that would have it developed to its specifications for its use.
Daws and brokers with Grubb & Ellis Phoenix Realty Group invited area brokers to the Northwest Jacksonville structure for a presentation and a catered lunch by Monroe's Smokehouse Bar-B-Q & Catering.
"We're starting to see vitality in the marketplace," Daws said.
He said the company had no debt on the building or on the land. "We don't have to worry about financing," he said. "We can respond quickly."
Regarding the industry, Daws said demand for build-to-suit projects usually precedes development of speculative projects. "That activity is picking up nicely," he said of the build-to-suit market.
He expects it will be a couple of years before speculative construction, meaning no tenant has been signed in advance, begins "in earnest" in the industry.
He also said a previous issue concerning humidity in the structure has been resolved.
A Crossroads brochure said the center is near railroad yards and package processing centers, along with access to I-295, I-10, I-95 and U.S. 1.
Republic, like other developers of distribution properties, cites development of Jacksonville's port as a key economic factor to the industry.
"It is estimated by the year 2015, the city's current cargo traffic will place Jacksonville among the top 10 ports in the entire nation," states the Crossroads brochure.
Operators that want to ship the cargo will look at strategically located cities. By truck, "from Jacksonville, 50 million consumers are reached within eight hours and 60 percent of the U.S. population is reached within 24 hours," said the Crossroads brochure.
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