A Maryland company that builds and operates shallow-bay industrial parks is a step closer to transforming a 14-acre site in Oakland into what it’s calling the Turnpike Commerce Center.
Greenberg Gibbons Properties got unanimous approval with variances Tuesday from the town’s Planning & Zoning Board for its project on land sandwiched between West Colonial Drive and Florida’s Turnpike, about 500 feet east of their intersection at Exit 272. It would deliver 160,160 square feet of space across four, single-story (30-foot-tall maximum) industrial flex buildings.
The project now heads to the Town Commission for review during its meeting on Tuesday, with staff recommending approval. Some portions of the project will require approval from Orange County in the future.
Drew Thigpen, vice president of development, told the board that since its founding in 2021, the company has delivered eight projects throughout the Carolinas, with this being the first in Central Florida.
“We also have two additional in greater Orlando that we’re working on, but we prioritized Oakland and this site as our first project to deliver into the greater Orlando area,” Thigpen said.
He said the company expects to invest about $34 million in the project, which it’s building on spec and planned for delivery after a 12-month construction phase. He said the development will cater to tenants needing a hybrid of office and warehouse space, and is expected to generate about $800,000 annually in new tax revenue.
“We build a product that is the most flexible and utilitarian for as large of a net of tenants as possible, and then when the project is delivered, we lease to the tenants that at that time need space,” Thigpen said.
A graphic he displayed to the board shows tenants across 12 categories, with most in home improvement (25%), automation/packaging (17%) and food/beverage (11%).
Thigpen told the board that tenant spaces can go as small as 6,000 square feet, but the average across the company’s portfolio is 10,000-12,000 square feet.
He expects to fully build out one building — probably into four 10,000-square-foot spaces — to have them immediately available for tenants who need them. The others will be left open to accommodate tenants’ space requirements. He doesn’t expect to have a single tenant fully occupying a building, but even splits are possible.
The board approved the developer’s five requested variances on landscape buffering (to forgo building a 6-foot-high screening wall the length of the property), minimum parking requirements (216 spaces instead of 1,638), industrial flooring footprint (40,040 square feet instead of 32,000 maximum), building orientation and fenestration (arrangement of exterior building windows and doors).
Before passing the variance, board members pressed the developer to do more with fenestration because of the existing 30% requirement per floor for industrial buildings. The buildings have a north-south orientation, with end caps facing Colonial to the north and the Turnpike to the south.
The plans show fenestration of the northern fronts of the two easternmost buildings at 30% — and 8% on the other two. From the rear, the westernmost building has 8% and the others have none.
“I think the overall feeling is that we’re not asking you to break the budget, we’re just asking you to make our town less ugly,” Chairman Zac Brown said. “Better than zero is optimal.”
The variance the board approved requires 30% fenestration along top and bottom of the north side of buildings. It also requires windows along the top portion on the south side as shown in renderings.
“It’s extremely expensive to put in those windows,” Thigpen said before the board made its decision. “This is a very premium version of industrial product, so we already stretch our proforma to the Nth degree.”
Access to the development is provided via a narrow parcel of land that connects the main portion of the site to West Colonial Drive. The owner is dedicating the access to the town as right-of-way.
According to county property records, the project site comprises four parcels owned by Secure Store Oakland LLC, an entity tied to Windermere resident Donald Huber. Huber, who was in attendance at the meeting, bought the properties in 2021 for about $3.45 million.
The land is designated industrial on the town’s future land use map, zoned Industrial General (I-1), and located within its Urban Corridor Design District. Other firms involved in the project include Kimley-Horn, McMillan Pazdan Smith Architecture and DEVITA.
Greenberg Gibbons recently filed plans with the St. Johns River Water Management District for Minneola Commerce Center, a new 120,000-square-foot light industrial park on 15 acres along U.S. Highway 27 just south of Citrus Grove Road. Currently vacant, the property is the latest industrial park in the development pipeline for Lake County, including one near the Hills of Minneola.
Brian Bell can be reached at bbell@orlandosentinel.com. Have a tip about Central Florida development? Email Newsroom@GrowthSpotter.com. Follow GrowthSpotter on Facebook and LinkedIn.
