CT Firm Inks 108,000-SF Lease at Port Ybor

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TAMPA-Farmington, CT-based Carrier Sales and Distribution LLC has signed a multiyear lease for 107,925 sf of bulk distribution space in Building 2 of the Port Ybor project.

The lease reflects an expansion for Carrier Sales and Distribution, a subsidiary of Carrier Corp., which provides heating, air conditioning and refrigeration services. The company will use the space to serve customers on the west coast of Florida. The 156,000-sf warehouse, situated on an 8.9-acre site across from Grant Street from the USPS building, features 28-ft clear ceiling heights, cross-dock loading capabilities and 50-foot column spacing.

According to CB Richard Ellis Q2 Tampa industrial market report, the submarket where Port Ybor is being developed is experiencing a vacancy rate of 4.9% and average asking rental rates of $3.24 per sf. Citywide, the vacancy rate is 4.2% with average asking rental rates of $6.32 per sf.

“This latest transaction illustrates the strength of the Tampa Bay industrial market,” says Bob Abberger, managing director of Trammell Crow’s Florida Development and Investment Group. “The Port Ybor project is serving to diversify the area economy and bring new business opportunities to the port.”

Abberger tells GlobeSt.com that Carrier has major manufacturing facilities in Mexico, which presents a great opportunity for the Port of Tampa to push more product over the wharf. Carrier will occupy the space in mid-November as soon as construction of the building is completed.

Trammell Crow vice president Clay Witherspoon represented the landlord. USI Real Estate Brokerage Services senior director Joanne Stepien and senior vice president Tad McDonough represented the tenant.

It is the second major lease for the Port Ybor project, a 33-acre, mixed-use complex being developed in phases by Dallas-based Trammell Crow Co. and New York-based ING Clarion Partners. When completed, the project will contain 490,000 sf of industrial bulk warehouse and distribution space and 32,250 sf of office space. In 2005, the US Postal Service leased the 281,600-sf Building 1 for a logistics and distribution center. A single-story, 25,000-sf office building is planned for groundbreaking in 2007.