Warehouses being built

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Manatee county site sold; big centers coming

Laura Finaldi
Sarasota Herald-Tribune | USA TODAY NETWORK

Two massive new warehouses are being built on a Manatee County par-cel off U.S.301 in Oneco.

According to commercial building permit applications filed with the county in late March, the two warehouses are being built on an 18-acre site in the southwest corner of U.S. 301 and 44th Avenue East, with an address of 47th Terrace East.

Manatee County spokesman Bill Logan confirmed that the two warehouses will cover 187,000 square feet and 188,144 square feet, respectively.

It’s not clear who the tenant is, Logan said. There’s no indication on the permits as to who it could be. But on the permits, both are referred to as distribution warehouses.

What is clear, however, is that the parcel recently changed hands. In late February, the previous owners of the property sold it for $7.75 million to Man-atee County Logistics Owner LLC.

That entity is registered to Barron Collier Companies at 2600 Golden Gate Parkway in Naples, which does land development, agricultural production and mineral management across the state.

An email sent to Barron Collier last week requesting more information was not returned. The company owns several commercial properties throughout Florida, including in Naples, and it’s also developing Ave Maria, a 4,000-acremaster-planned community in Collier County.

Close to the new warehouse property is the Beall’s corporate warehouse and distribution center at 2100 47th Terrace East in Bradenton.

Last year was a strong one for industrial real estate in Sarasota, Manatee and Charlotte counties. The vacancy rate was 0.9% in the fourth quarter of last year, down from 2.9% the year before, according to statistics from MSC Commercial.

Rents were up 19% for industrial space in the fourth quarter, hitting $9.35 per square foot, compared to $7.85 in the same period in 2020.

Growth in e-commerce has led to the establishment of an Amazon delivery station in Manatee County at 7925 21st St. East. It opened in August 2020.