Industrial activity in the Orlando market is heading west along State Highway 429, according to the latest report on the metro industrial market by JLL.

The trend of development over the last three quarters of 2017 focused on the Northwest Orange County market, as space in the southeast market, especially along Interstate 4, has delivered and leased.

Overall, there will be demand for more industrial space in the Orlando market in the near future.

"There are currently 3.15M SF of known tenant requirements over 100K SF in the market," the report said.

"With timing from 10-24 months, this new demand will probably meet the current development pipeline reasonably well, keeping vacancy and asking rents constant."

The report noted that the market will soon become prime for investment. For one thing, owners who have added value to properties might be tempted to sell to investors looking for longer-term holds.

Numerous built-to-suit properties have been completed recently, and some spec development has reached high occupancy. These too might attract investor attention.

Investors seem to be expanding the hunt for properties farther southwest along I-4. Recently Lakeland Plant Property, a 26.3-acre industrial site in Lakeland, about an hour from Orlando, sold for just shy of $5M. The trade was between two LLCs, facilitated by Marcus & Millichap.

The office/warehouse building on the property measures about 85,500 SF, and the site also includes 15 vacant acres. The same tenant has leased the building since 2003.

"The buyer plans to immediately remarket the property with a new triple-net-credit lease in place and 10-15 acres for the development of industrial space at the intersection of I-4 and the Polk Parkway,” said Paul Bouldin, an investment specialist in Marcus & Millichap’s Tampa office.