Developer Minto Communities has closed on the sale of a 17.5-acre tract in Westlake for the city’s first office/industrial real estate project, the Westlake Commerce Center. A partnership between Fort Lauderdale-based Mitchell Property Realty and Atlanta-based Ridgeline Property Group acquired the land and plan on developing a 227,000-square-foot spec office, warehouse, distribution facility located inside Westlake Landings, a 50-acre master-planned business park located off Seminole Pratt Whitney Road.
“As a city like Westlake matures, it needs business and employment centers such as this to serve the influx of new residents moving into the area,” Minto Senior Vice President John Carter said. “At the same time, we anticipate the new project will create hundreds of new jobs in the area helping to stimulate the local economy.”
The tilt-wall-constructed facility will feature office space, 32-foot clear-height ceilings and a truck court. It can be configured for a large single-user or multiple tenants leasing a minimum of 10,000 square feet of space.
“With the population exploding in Westlake and the surrounding communities, I think we will be attractive to any company seeking a regional distribution or last-mile facility,” said Ed Mitchell of Mitchell Property Realty. “As hot as the industrial market is at the moment, we’re confident we’ll have a tenant in place soon.”
Mitchell said the partnership hopes to break ground this fall, once building permits are issued, with a completion date estimated in the second quarter of 2023.
The Westlake Commerce Center is part of a broader construction boom taking place in Westlake. Construction is underway on a self-storage facility, a Publix shopping center and a Christ Fellowship Church 800-seat worship center. Konover South will soon start building the Shoppes of Westlake, which will feature two open-air shopping centers and a pod of quick-service restaurants.
The 3,800-acre Westlake community is approved for more than two million square feet of commercial development and 4,500 homes.
For more information on the community, call (888) 299-3628 or visit www.westlakefl.com.
