Construction Begins On 1.4MSF Ocala South Logistics Park

Kansas City-based commercial real estate development company Hunt Midwest and Ocala-based Boyd+Mox began construction in late March on the new Ocala South Logistics Park in central Florida’s booming manufacturing and logistics corridor.

Ocala South Logistics Park will bring 1.4 million total square feet of Class A, dock-high industrial space to a 93-acre parcel in the Florida Crossroads Commerce Park.

Construction is underway on the first 251,511-square-foot building, the only rear-load warehouse available in the market and the first of up to four buildings planned for the logistics park. Delivery of Building I is expected by the end of 2023 and leasing is underway. Additional build-to-suit opportunities are also available for prospective users.

The project is Hunt Midwest’s first industrial venture in Florida and its first partnership with Boyd+Mox, a privately owned firm founded in 2020, whose principals have delivered more than 20 million square feet of development.

Ocala South Logistics Park is strategically located just three miles from Interstate 75 and within a one- to two-hour drive of three of Florida’s major metro areas: Tampa, Orlando, and Jacksonville.

With four of the state’s six major trucking arteries cutting across central Florida, 70% of all truck traffic in the state passes through Ocala.

The Ocala metro was named the sixth fastest growing metro in US News & World Report’s 2022 Best Places Lists and Florida is now the fastest growing state in the country according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The city also ranked No. 1 in 12-month job growth in a study by the Milken Institute and draws on a workforce of almost 440,000 employees within a 60-minute drive.

“Location, labor, and logistics are at the heart of Hunt Midwest’s industrial model and Ocala South Logistics Park scores off the charts in all three categories,” said Mike Bell, Hunt Midwest Senior Vice President for Commercial Real Estate. “Ocala has proven itself to be a major hub for the entire Southeast U.S. and this site presents a tremendous opportunity for users to take advantage of that position for their manufacturing, distribution, and fulfillment operations.”

The site is utility-ready with electric, gas, water, and sewer and features an electric substation and fiber optic signal generator on-site. Hunt Midwest and Boyd+Mox are constructing Building I on a speculative basis with 32-foot clear height, 68 dock-high doors, 60-foot-deep speed bays, and two drive-in doors.

Building I is scheduled to be complete in late 2023 and is demisable for users seeking 50,000 square feet or more. Ocala South Logistics Park will support an additional 1.1 million square feet of industrial space in future phases with build-to-suit options available for up to 555,000
square feet.

“We are excited to partner with Hunt Midwest to deliver this Class-A facility in our home market to support the growth of local, regional and national companies in Ocala,” said Thad Boyd, Chairman of Boyd+Mox Industrial Development.

Ocala South Logistics Park’s central location and transportation access has made it a growing distribution and manufacturing base for some of the world’s largest companies. The site can reach more than 65 million consumers within one-day shipping and 230 million consumers
within two-day shipping. FedEx, Chewy, and Amazon have opened facilities in the area and Ocala South Logistics Park is directly adjacent to Dollar Tree’s new 1.7 million-square-foot, 140-foot-tall, state-of-the-art distribution center.

“We are so excited to have a company with a national reputation like Hunt Midwest partnering with our own Boyd+Mox on this key project,” said Kevin Sheilley, Ocala Metro Chamber & Economic Partnership CEO. “This is an important development as we continue to see businesses moving to and expanding in Florida.”

Hunt Midwest and Boyd+Mox have partnered with Kimley Horn for engineering, LS3P for building design, Evans General Contractors as general contractor, and CBRE’s Rian Smith, Kris Courier and Josh Tarkow for leasing. Leasing options for Building I and build-to-suit options for the remainder of the park remain available.