Premier Airport Park enters next development phase

Principal Real Estate Investors, a Des Moines, Iowa-based real estate affiliate of the giant Principal Financial Group, has begun work on the next phase of its Premier Airport Park in Fort Myers.

The new development will add a pair of industrial buildings totaling 213,405 square feet to the Southwest Florida market when they are completed in the fourth quarter.

The new product comes as industrial vacancy has shrunk in Southwest Florida to historic lows amid population influx and affiliated residential construction, demand for so-called “last mile” distribution hubs and desire for increased manufacturing space.

In Fort Myers, industrial vacancy has decreased to 4.5%, while in Sarasota, Punta Gorda and Naples, the amount of available space has fallen to 2%.

“The park has proven to be a good place to manufacture from, and it’s an efficient from a distribution standpoint,” says Dan Miller, executive managing director of industrial services with commercial real estate brokerage Colliers International, who is marketing the space with the firm’s Fred Kolb.

The new phase, which broke ground in March, will bring the number of buildings at the 225-acre park near Southwest Florida International Airport to four.

The first two buildings, developed beginning in 2018, are almost fully occupied, Miller says. Existing tenants include Watts Water, Klocke of America Inc. and Home Depot Inc.

In all, 15 buildings are planned totaling 1.875 million square feet in the business park, which is being constructed on a speculative basis. Principal has owned Premier Airport Park’s land since 2008.

The new space is being marketed at $8.10 per square foot on a triple-net basis, which means tenants cover various expenses, and a $2 per square foot common area maintenance charge also will apply, Miller says. Principal is offering tenants up to $8 per square foot in tenant improvement allowance, he adds.

In addition to being within a three-hour drive of 18 million residents, the roughly $200 million project features buildings with 32-foot clear ceiling heights, ESFR sprinklers and a 180-foot truck court.