An out-of-state buyer recently closed on a business park near the Orlando International Airport in what was one of the Orlando market’s largest industrial transactions in recent memory.

Irvine, CA-based LBA Logistics purchased the Lee Vista Business Center for $120 million from New York-based Link Logistics, a subsidiary of investment management company Blackstone, according to a report in GrowthSpotter.

The 81-acre business park, situated off of Emerald Dunes Drive, includes 635,684 square feet of warehouse, office, and distribution space spread out over four buildings. In 2009, developer McDonald Development delivered phase 1, which consisted of two buildings and 333,300 square feet. The developer completed another 145,800-square-foot building in 2015 as part of the property’s second phase. A year later, Link Logistics bought the three existing buildings for $47.89 million.

In 2018, McDonald delivered the third phase of the industrial park, consisting of a 159,885-square-foot building. In 2019, Link Logistics closed on the final building for $15.5 million, bringing their total investment to about $63.4 million.

According to the McDonald website, three parcels of land are available for future phases which could deliver an additional 294,400 square feet of office and warehouse distribution facilities over a trio of buildings. However, the company has not yet submitted an application or plans to Orange County for those parcels.

LBA Logistics has a nationwide portfolio that encompasses industrial properties in 25 states, as well as one property in the United Kingdom. The company’s Florida portfolio consists of five properties, including one Orlando-area asset, the 506,864-square-foot University Crossing at Winter Park at 3825 Forsyth Rd. in Winter Park.

Representatives from LBA Logistics and Link Logistics didn’t respond to requests for comment.

William “Bo” Bradford and Tim Perry of the Central Florida office of Lee & Associates handle leasing for the property.

“There’s a lot of airport-related clients. That has largely been the target,” Bradford explained, noting the presence of high-profile tenants such as Jet Blue, Siemens, and Thales. “[The tenants] are doing regional distribution or statewide distribution, and it is a very good location for that.”

According to a Lee & Associates Q1 Industrial market report, rental rates in the Orlando market peaked at roughly $11.00 per square foot in Q1 of 2023 and have steadily declined each quarter to the current asking rental rate price of $8.45 per square foot. Asking rents fell slightly from Q4 2023 to Q1 2024, but the report indicates that rents are likely to stabilize instead of continuing a negative trend.

The report also notes that there was a temporary spike in industrial sales volume in 2022, mostly due to low interest rates in 2021 and the beginning of 2022. Sales volume reached a combined $1.4 billion in 2022, but decreased to $731 million last year.

 

 

“The Airport/South East submarket is the largest submarket in Orlando,” Bradford explained. “The majority of the submarket is bulk/distribution space, and it has historically been one of the best-performing submarkets in the Orlando area.”

The recent sale of the Lee Vista Business Center is by far the largest industrial transaction in the Orlando market so far this year. In April, Alabama-based Haber Management Corporation purchased the five-building, 256,838-square-foot Cypress Park, located at 9500 Satellite Blvd, for $40.5 million. Shortly after that transaction, a partnership between New Jersey-based Denholtz Properties and Boston-based Long Wharf Capital purchased the 255,000-square-foot Silver Star Commerce Center at 3600 Silver Star Rd. for $36.5 million.

Lee Vista also tops all of the market’s industrial transactions from last year. Last year’s largest transaction came in May 2023 when New Jersey-based logistics company NFI Industries spent just north of $100 million on a 595,564-square-foot industrial property at 901 W. Landstreet Rd.

Have a tip about Central Florida development? Contact me at (407)607-8160 or TyWilliams@GrowthSpotter.com. Follow GrowthSpotter on Facebook and LinkedIn.