Friday, February 25, 2005

Boston venture plans $250M project in southeast Orlando

Investor group purchases 593-acre parcel for $11.6 million

Orlando Business Journal - by Jill Krueger Staff Writer

ORLANDO - A Boston real estate investment company is planning a major commercial development -- with a buildout value of more than $250 million -- on a 593-acre tract in southeast Orlando.

Last month, Taurus Southern Investments LLC formed a limited partnership called Beltway Commerce Center CD93 and paid $11.6 million for the formerly leased ranch land at State Road 417 (Central Florida GreeneWay) and Lee Vista Boulevard.

The sellers were Reeland Corp. and Glenbee Inc.

At a time when other developers are converting commercially zoned land for residential purposes, Taurus officials are betting on an increased need for office, industrial and retail inventory in the area.

Jeff McFadden, Taurus' local managing partner, believes the area's growing number of rooftops means the market is maturing and ready for significant new commercial development. The numbers support that thesis: There were 8,818 owner-occupied homes in the area in 1990; by 2000, that number had swelled to more than 19,000.

"There's no doubt that the southeast quadrant is poised to grow," he says.

Industrial shortage cited

Heidi Adams, an executive associate with privately held Taurus, says "one of the reasons why we were interested in buying the land" was because of the shortage of industrial land in southeast Orlando.

Plans for the Beltway Commerce Center, which Taurus officials say they may rename, include:

• 1.2 million to 1.5 million square feet of build-to-suit and speculative industrial space, as well as certain industrial pads to sell, on the northeast side of the property
• 1 million square feet of retail space on the southwest side
• 1 million square feet of office on the southeast and northwest sides of the property

Adams says Taurus will have to clear the land and install infrastructure before erecting the not-yet-determined number of buildings. In addition, she says, an extension of Lee Vista Boulevard is needed, as well as another road running through the project.

"Taurus intends to deliver the retail before year's end and the industrial in the first part of 2006," McFadden adds. "The office is three to five years out."

Right 'characteristics'

Commercial brokers, meanwhile, believe the area is ripe for commercial development.

"From what I know of that area, it's has been exploding over the last three or four years, and I suspect their project will be a success," says Greg Morrison, executive director of office services for Advantis Real Estate Services Co.

John Gilbert, executive vice president in CB Richard Ellis Group Inc.'s Orlando office, believes the Beltway Commerce Center has plenty of upside potential.

"The property has great access, great visibility and would certainly appear to have all the characteristics you need," he says.

On the other hand, Gilbert believes the area may need some time to mature before office construction should be undertaken.

"Heading from the airport north on 417, there's not a whole lot of development out there," he says. "But it (the need for office space) is certainly headed that way."

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