Liberty Property Acquires 126 Acres for Tradeport Industrial Park

REIT Plans to Break Ground Late Next Year On First Phase of 1.6 Million-Square-Foot Development

By Randyl Drummer

December 21, 2011

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Liberty Property Trust (NYSE: LRY) has acquired 126 acres fronting Florida’s Turnpike south of Okeechobee Road for the development of Miami International Tradeport (MIT), a $135 million industrial park. The $17.25 million deal for 126 acres is one of the largest South Florida industrial land deals of the last 10 years.

MIT is planned to include up to 1.6 million square feet of institutional-grade warehouse and distribution space and create 4,000 new construction jobs, with 2,000 full-time jobs upon completion. Butters Construction & Development, a Coconut Creek-based development company, will oversee construction of the new park, according to CBRE, which brokered the transaction.

Liberty, which acquired the former limestone quarry from cement and concrete firm Tarmac America, expects final zoning approval in January and plans to start construction on the first phase of speculative, multi-tenant distribution buildings in late 2012, along with basic park infrastructure.

The project will be built over the next five to seven years.
The acquisition marks Liberty’s entrance into Miami-Dade County, said Andy Petry, vice president and city manager for the Malvern, PA-based REIT. "We feel there is a tremendous opportunity for well-designed and well-located industrial product in Miami-Dade County, and we are excited to begin development and to grow our footprint in South Florida."

Driven by robust cargo operations at Miami International Airport and the expansion of the Port of Miami and the Panama Canal to allow super-sized cargo ships, vacancy rates for the county’s Class A industrial buildings west of Miami International Airport have steadily fallen over the last year to below 5%. Gross rents have risen to more than $8 per square foot.

"Miami is quickly becoming one of the top industrial gateway cities in the United States and is considered, along with Southern California, as one the über-core markets, where all the institutional real estate owners must have a presence," said Malcolm Butters, president of the firms which has built more than 10 million square feet of commercial space in South Florida. "This site was clearly one of the last large land tracts available in western Miami-Dade County for industrial development and will enable us to attract large users."

Christian Lee and Chris Riley, both vice chairmen, led the transaction for CBRE.

Please see CoStar COMPs #2227250 for more information on this transaction.