Easton & Associates has completed its third lease in 90 days at a 485,000 square foot warehouse/distribution center in east Hialeah, located at 725 Southeast 9th Court.
Most recently, Easton’s Tom Kimen and David Olalde arranged for Permasteelisa North American Corp., a global construction-related business, to lease 80, 201 square feet at the facility, a former Winn Dixie food distribution center built in 1960. Previously, Easton leased 70,000 square feet to Alsina Forms, a manufacturer of formwork systems, and 30,000 square feet to Dupuy, a global logistics and storage business.
Last year, an investor from the Midwest purchased the 20-acre site with plans to redevelop the older, outdated building with a state-of-the-art industrial facility, but the brokerage team convinced him to go in a different direction.
“Although this is a prime location near the airport and seaport, we successfully advised the owner not to move forward with his plans for a new facility, because we didn’t believe the market would support the rents that would be needed to justify new construction,” said Olalde. “The market is oversaturated with new product at the moment.”
Instead, Olalde said, the owner agreed to invest money into rehabilitating the facility and lease it out at more attractive rates.
“The strategy was successful with this facility because we are able to offer $5 a foot gross rent when the rest of the market is $7 a foot or more. Since the market is void of larger space at a discount right now, this strategy turned out to be a home run.”
“This is a great example of the value we bring to a client,” said Jose Hernandez-Solaun, president of The Easton Group. “Because of our knowledge and experience, we were able to advise an out-of-town real estate investor on the most effective way to generate cash flow on his asset. Once all of the demand catches up with the available supply, it will make sense to build something new on the site.”
For now, Easton is working on leasing the remaining 155,000 square foot of industrial space available in the building, but expects to have a tenant signed up soon.
