EastGroup Properties paid about $12 million for 30 acres in East Tampa, giving the industrial landlord enough land to expand Crossroads Logistics Park from three buildings totaling roughly 500,000 square feet to five buildings totaling approximately 850,000 square feet.
The September purchase adds about 350,000 square feet to the development plan, a 70% increase on land adjacent to EastGroup’s existing park. The price works out to roughly $400,000 an acre for the property, which the company calls Crossroads Logistics Park Phase II Land.
EastGroup made the purchase with little vacancy left across its roughly 66.8 million-square-foot portfolio, which was 97.1% leased and 96.1% occupied as of Aug. 31. During July and August, the company signed nearly 1.94 million square feet of new and renewal leases, with rental rates increasing an average of 23.1% on a cash basis and 38.9% on a straight-line basis.
“The leasing velocity we enjoyed earlier in the year continues and is reflected in our results,” CEO Marshall Loeb said.
EastGroup has started three development projects and one redevelopment totaling 772,000 square feet during the third quarter through early September, with projected costs of approximately $119 million. Eight leases totaling approximately 280,000 square feet were also signed at active developments and first-generation properties during the quarter.
The company also moved a fully leased, 113,000-square-foot Orlando development into its operating portfolio and spent approximately $83 million to acquire Harris Ridge Business Center in Austin. In Northeast Dallas, another $38 million land purchase expanded a four-building, 350,000-square-foot development plan into 11 buildings totaling approximately 1 million square feet.
The Mississippi-based real estate investment trust owns industrial properties in high-growth U.S. markets, with an emphasis on Florida, Texas, California, Arizona and North Carolina. EastGroup primarily targets distribution space for businesses occupying between 20,000 and 100,000 square feet and clusters its properties near major transportation routes.