There was another cheap, cheap sale of an industrial building in East Tampa that is likely a redevelopment play. It is a 112,000 SF building next to IKEA on Adamo, which the adjacent owner bought for under $8/SF in order to assemble a large enough parcel, along with his existing buildings, in the hopes of attracting a big box retailer to demolish the building and re-develop the site. Also, a large sublease happened in Lakeland, where Southeastern Paper took 80,000 SF at Bridgewater. Read about the jobs created by Southeastern here.
The Tampa Port Authority announced a development of on-dock rail service for refrigerated cargo to the Midwest, which will present new efficiencies to the food and agricultural industry locally and in the Midwest. Click here for the story.Also attached are press releases on local employment figures. The local jobs are improving, although we’re still seeing negative year-to-date employment growth in industrial user-related jobs (manufacturing, trade, transportation and warehousing). You’ll notice most of that change in red in the “Tampa Bay MSA Job Growth” PDF located at this link.
On a national news level, the Conference Board Leading Economic Index picked up a strong pace over the last 6 months, with the biggest uncertainties remaining in the pace of business spending and the impact of slower global growth on U.S. exports. Find the full report here at this link.
