Seagate Development continues headquarters’ streak

In selecting Seagate Development Group to build its new 60,000-square-foot headquarters in Fort Myers, Scotlynn USA Division Inc. is continuing an enviable streak for its developer.

The logistics and transportation firm’s three-story project, planned for 9597 Gulf Research Lane, marks the latest in a half-dozen headquarters that Seagate has been selected to develop in Southwest Florida over the past three years.

“I think we understand the true costs and timing of projects, we can help clients walk through their interactions with banks, if necessary, and we’re very familiar with the entitlement process and can speak intelligently about it,” says Matt Price, Seagate’s CEO.

“But what really makes us successful is that we first and foremost want our clients to be happy, and we’ve built a tremendous team that focuses on that,” Price adds. “We’re in a relationship business and we’re focused on building long-term relationships.”

When Seagate completes the roughly $11 million project in July of next year, Scotlynn will own the property, which is being developed with a host of amenities that include an on-site cafeteria, fitness center, basketball court and walking trails for employees.

In addition to Scotlynn, Seagate is developing or has recently completed a handful of other, ambitious headquarters projects for clients in Fort Myers and Naples.

Perhaps its most notable project to date is a $60 million, 150,000-square-foot headquarters for cancer screener NeoGenomics Inc., also currently underway and slated for completion next year in Fort Myers.

The five-year-old development firm also in Southwest Florida has completed a 15,000-square-foot project for design firm EnSite; and a 10,000-square-foot headquarters for TerraSmart.

Seagate also is currently working on wrapping up a new 52,000-square-foot headquarters for Conditioned Air of Naples and is moving forward on its own new 13,500-square-foot quarters in Fort Myers, which is slated for completion next year.

But the company isn’t anywhere close to being near full capacity, Price says.

“We’ve been able to scale up and now we’re at the point that with the team we have in place we can take on opportunities as they come,” he says. “Frankly, we’re looking for more projects.”

Price says the company has another handful of design/build projects in its pipeline and is negotiating for still other work. Seagate contends that Southwest Florida is in a good position to land growing company’s headquarters’ projects over the next decade.

“With interest rates being historically low, we believe that single-tenant user buildings will become the preferred project type in this market longer term, and so we’re 100% focused on that market,” Price says.

And thanks to the relationships its built, as its clients grow, Seagate’s opportunities could grow as well.

NeoGenomics, for instance, could expand its forthcoming headquarters by another 100,000 square feet on an adjacent site, and Scotlynn has a pad site on its eight-acre parcel capable of accommodating an additional 20,000 square feet of space.