RealOp buys Tampa industrial project for $16.5 million

A Greenville, S.C.-based company has purchased a former Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits distribution center in Tampa with the aim of backfilling it with new logistics-oriented tenants.

RealOp Investment’s $16.5 million deal for the 5210 S. 16th Ave. property follows Southern Glazer’s move to a more modern and centrally located distribution facility in Lakeland a few years ago.

The private equity firm says it plans to make a series of improvements to the 360,000-square-foot building, which features a 27-foot clear ceiling height; 34 loading dock doors and an active rail spur.

Renovations will include improvements to lighting, the heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems, offices and the dock doors.

Julian Nexsen, RealOp’s vice president of acquisitions and business development, could not be reached for comment on how much the company plans to spend upgrading the property, which is near both Port Tampa Bay and Interstate 75.

Chip Hunt, the 10-year-old company’s vice president of leasing, says in a statement that the Tampa area’s strong population and employment growth, combined with low vacancy for industrial properties, should help its leasing efforts.

The company has retained Colliers International Tampa Bay Executive Managing Director Ryan Vaught and Director Robyn Hurrell to lease the property.

With the purchase, RealOp now owns roughly 900,000 square feet of industrial space in Tampa, Charlotte, N.C., and Nashville.

Along the Gulf Coast, it also owns an eight-building, Class B office park in Tampa’s Westshore business district that contain about 200,000 square feet of space.