NY firm buys area distribution center for nearly $18M

LAKELAND — A New York real estate development and property management firm has acquired a 139,500-square-foot warehouse/distribution building in Polk County for $17.8 million.

INDUS Realty Trust, which specializes in high-quality industrial and logistics properties, acquired the property, according to a release from Cushman & Wakefield, which represented the seller. A spokesperson for the real estate brokerage, in an email, declined to identify the seller of the building, at 2850 Interstate Drive, Lakeland.

Polk County property records list the most recent owner prior the sale as Lakeland Interstate Warehouse LLC, an entity controlled by Maryland-based real estate firm Knott Realty Group and James Knott. That entity acquired the nine-acre industrial property site for the building in 2006 for $1.63 million, property records show.  The building, which features clear heights of 30 feet, 40-feet dock-high and two ramped drive-in doors, is part of Lakeland Interstate Business Park.

Rick Brugge, Rick Colon, Mike Davis and Dominic Montazemi of Cushman & Wakefield, with support from Zach Eicholtz, represented INDUS Realty Trust, the release states. David Buckner of Buckner Commercial Properties assisted in the sales process and provided local market expertise.

“2850 Interstate Drive is a Class A industrial building well located in the heart of Lakeland, a regional and statewide logistics hub,” Brugge says in the statement. “Because of the high quality of construction and strategic location, the building has attracted and retained high quality tenancy and will continue to do so.”