The Homestead Park of Commerce

We are pleased to announce the sale of 28 acres located within The Homestead Park of Commerce in south Miami-Dade County. The closing price was $10,900,000. (There was also an additional, non-disclosed assignment fee).

The Buyer is EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE: EGP), a S&P Mid-Cap 400 Company who is a self-administered equity real estate investment trust focused on the development, acquisition and operation of industrial properties in major Sunbelt markets throughout the United States with an emphasis on Florida. The purpose of their acquisition is to construct four class A warehouse buildings for a total of about 400,000 sq. ft. The estimated delivery date is the third quarter of 2023.

The Seller was Doug, LLC who contracted to sell the property to Violet Capital who subsequently assigned the contract to EastGroup. “The Homestead / South Dade submarket will be South Florida’s next hot industrial market as demand for industrial space in Homestead continues to increase. It is becoming very difficult to find large industrial land sites within Miami-Dade County to develop Class A industrial projects. The Homestead area still offers these opportunities to developers of industrial space. The presence of large national companies such as Amazon, FedEx and others in this area along with the continued population growth in the Homestead area will continue to push rental rates up. Homestead has become the southern hub for South Florida commerce. Big names like Amazon, FedEx, Copart, Atlantic Sapphire and EcoSteel have already started creating a foothold in this rapidly expanding city.” – states George Pino, SIOR, RPA | President of State Street Realty, who represented Violet in the transaction.

EastGroup was represented in the transaction by The ComReal Miami Industrial Team of Ed Redlich, SIOR, CCIM, Patrick McBride, Esq., Chris Spear, CCIM and Edison Vasquez, CCIM with The ComReal Companies. “This is a very exciting and significant project for both the south Miami-Dade industrial market as well as the local community. The new warehouse construction will attract industrial businesses to the growing area and create hundreds of employment opportunities for local residents.” states Redlich. “Our team looks forward to marketing the project as South Dade continues to attract both large commercial investments and residents in droves. The project will provide a great option for the strong demand for dock high warehouse space in the area.”

For more information about this sale and other properties, please contact the ComReal Team at 786-433-2380.

October 2020 – ComReal is proud to announce the sale of +/- 117 acres within The Homestead Park of Commerce in South Dade and welcome Copart USA to the City of Homestead! The sales price was $34,746,716. Copart was represented by the ComReal team including Ed Redlich, Ron Redlich, Chris Spear, Edison Vasquez, Mort Fetterolf and Patrick McBride. The seller, HPDG 1-4, was represented by the team at JLL. Both parties, along with their respective brokers and legal team at Holland & Knight worked together to effect the transaction.The collective efforts of all parties involved helped lead to a successful conclusion despite some delays caused by the China virus.

In early 2019, Copart contacted Ed Redlich about acquiring a +/- 100 acres industrial site in Miami-Dade County for their catastrophic response operations to temporarily store vehicles that sustain damage from natural disasters. The ComReal team prepared a comprehensive site selection of available properties that would suit their needs. The Homestead Park of Commerce was selected due to it’s availability, industrial zoning and economical price within the Miami marketplace. For over twenty years, this site has had challenges with prior owners, market conditions and issues with the site itself including compatibility issues within the flight path of the US Air Force base. The determinism by Ed Redlich, and his father Ron, finally found the once-in-a-lifetime solution.

Ed Redlich states that “This project is truly a win-win-win-win-win! A win for the U.S. Air Force Base, a win for the ownership, a win for Copart USA, a win for the City’s residents and a win for local construction workers.” Redlich was “Redland raised” in Homestead for 20+ years and graduated from South Dade High School in 1991. He volunteered with The Homestead Vision Council for over a decade and had the honor of serving as the Chairman of the Board from 2006-08. Throughout their career, the Redlich’s have sold hundreds of acres of land and assisted their clients in creating hundreds of jobs in the South Dade community including Dunham Bush Air Conditioning, Sea Hunter Boats, Deco Truss Company, Flowers Bakery, Enterprise Rent-A-Car and more.

“There is plenty of land for more businesses and job creation to come to the South Dade community.” Redlich adds. “Let’s all work together to go recruit more businesses and demonstrate that “Homestead is open for business”.

For more information on this deal and other commercial properties available, please contact ComReal at 786-433-2380. Thank you very much.

Ed Redlich welcomes Copart USA to the Homestead Rotary’s Seafood Festival!

March 4, 2020

RE: Copart USA Offers Great Opportunity for the City of Homestead to Show the Business Community They Are Open For Business

Residents of Homestead,

I would like to thank the Honorable Mayor and Council Members for their diligence in the consideration of the Copart USA application for their proposed outside storage use for 98 acres in the Homestead Park of Commerce. Last year, Copart USA (a S&P 500 Company) retained me to identify and acquire +/- 100 acres in South Dade for a Catastrophe Response Site to temporarily store vehicles that sustain damage from natural disasters.

As many of you may know, I was “Redland raised” for 20+ years, graduating from South Dade High School in 1991. I volunteered with The Homestead Vision Council for over a decade and had the honor of serving as the Chairman of the Board from 2006-08. Presently I am a Trustee with the South Dade Chamber of Commerce. For over 25 years, I have worked in the commercial real estate profession in South Florida. Throughout my career, I’ve sold hundreds of acres of land and assisted my clients in creating hundreds of jobs in this community. My passion and my focus is South Dade.

I have a long history with the Homestead Park of Commerce. I remember Rockefeller Group, A&H Commerce, and GBX Homestead… all of whom failed to successfully develop the same subject property. I believed so strongly in the “vision” of Homestead that I personally acquired 15 acres in the Park of Commerce in 2007.  Unlike many other developers during that period, I survived. In 2016, after almost a decade of fighting to keep the property and extensively marketing the site, I was finally able to successfully recruit Dunham Bush Air Conditioning to acquire my site. None of this was easy.

According to a study by ComReal, there are approximately 344 acres within the southeast area of Homestead available for industrial development. Of the 98 acre subject site, only 38 acres are currently developable of which the maximum number of jobs could only ever be 5-10 per acre (not 50). The remaining acres include 60 acres of federal wetlands. With its investment in the Homestead Park of Commerce, Copart will absorb only about 10% of the available inventory for industrial development. Still leaving plenty of room for more businesses and job creation to come to our community!

Given my history and experience, I know that this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for this site for several main reasons: 1) Copart plans to make a $50M investment into a site that has been abandoned for 30+ years, 2) Copart’s use is harmonious with and is a non-encroachment of the flight path of the U.S. Air Force Base, which lessens the risk of a major PUBLIC SAFETY ISSUE and protects South Dade’s largest economic engine, and 3) Copart’s use represents nearly $300,000 in annual ad valorem property taxes that will directly benefit the City.

This project is truly a win-win-win-win! A win for the U.S. Air Force Base, a win for the ownership, a win for Copart USA and a win for the City and its residents!

We finally have a real solution on the table for a long vacant site with quite a history. Now is the time for all parties that have South Dade’s best interests at heart to send a positive message to the South Florida business community and beyond that “Homestead is open for business”. Let’s approve this use. Let’s welcome Copart USA to the Homestead Park of Commerce. Then let’s all work together to go recruit more businesses to Homestead!

Edward Redlich

Edward Redlich, SIOR, CCIM

ComReal

51 Merrick Way, Coral Gables, FL 33133

Click the image for an aerial drone video of the Warehouse in Homestead Park of Commerce

Sold! Edward Redlich, SIOR, CCIM with ComReal announces the sale of 3790 Alex Muxo Boulevard in Homestead, Florida. The 64,019 sq. ft. warehouse is located within the Homestead Park of Commerce. The sales price was $6,050,000 or about $94 per sq. ft. The seller was Anaga International and the buyer is Trading Unlimited.

The property was listed on-the-market for over four years. ComReal was retained to sell or lease the building long term. However, the industrial real estate market in South Dade moves very slow. Shortly after Hurricane Irma in 2017, Redlich learned that the Hilton Hotel in Key Largo would be undergoing renovations. Their logistics provider, Mid-West Moving & Storage, was seeking a warehouse to store the new furniture of a period of six months. Redlich was able to retain Mid-West for a short term lease at the warehouse on behalf of his landlord/client. The deal was a win-win for both parties and provided a temporary fix until a long term solution was procured.

After an extensive marketing campaign via ComReal’s national and global networks, Trading Unlimited was retained to purchase the Homestead warehouse. Over ten jobs will be created. This completed Redlich’s 3rd significant transaction with the Homestead Park of Commerce, more than any other commercial real estate broker. In 2016, Redlich was also responsible for recruiting Dunham Bush Air Conditioning. He sold the 15 acres site that he personally owned to them for $3,100,000. In it’s first phase, Dunham Bush is expected to create over 50 new jobs. Read more about this story at Homestead Park of Commerce Welcomes Dunham Bush. >>>

It is public knowledge at this time, that Redlich is now representing Copart USA, a S&P 500 Company, in their acquisition of 117 acres also within the Homestead Park of Commerce. “In 1995, I entered the commercial real estate industry with my father, Ron. We both lived in the Redland. So it was always special to us to do deals and create jobs in South Dade.” states Redlich. “The challenge with the Homestead Park of Commerce is that most of the park is in poor condition for development, encumbered by Federal Wetland restrictions, located in the restrictive flight path of the United States Air Force Base as well as a very bureaucratic Planned Urban Development zoning within the City of Homestead that doesn’t mirror other industrial parks across the nation. In addition, Homestead’s geographical location being on the end of a peninsula surrounded by water and swamp makes the marketability of industrial properties incredibly difficult. We are at the end of the logistical supply chain”.

Redlich is a native to South Dade and proud of the fact the he was “Redland raised”. He volunteered with The Homestead Vision Council for over a decade and had the honor of serving as the Chairman of the Board from 2006-08. Presently he is a Trustee with the South Dade Chamber of Commerce. For over 25 years, Redlich as worked in the commercial real estate profession in South Florida. Throughout his career, he has sold hundreds of acres of land and assisted clients in creating hundreds of jobs in the South Dade community. His passion and focus has always been South Dade.

Background of the Homestead Park of Commerce (HPC). In 1999, the City of Homestead, owner of HPC, entered into an agreement with the Rockefeller Group out of New York City to extensively market the Homestead Park of Commerce. After zero success, Rockefeller was terminated and the City sold the park to A&H Commerce. This group went bankrupt and the park was then acquired by GBX Homestead who also subsequently went bankrupt in their efforts to develop the park.

South Dade: South Florida’s Frontier for Premier Business and Lifestyle

It’s hard to deny the increasingly high rate at which South Florida is exploding in industry and population. With a prime geographic location that is easily accessible from domestic as well as international hubs in Europe, South and Central America, the Caribbean, and even Asia, Miami and surrounding areas are experiencing strong and steady growth.

With import/export and global industries requiring large warehouses bringing more industrial and manufacturing business into South Florida, the race is on for companies to find the perfect space to both house and secure their goods as well as provide a safe place for their employees to live, work, and play. Miami-Dade County offers plenty of prime real estate and neighborhoods for businesses and families relocating to the area, but it is the localities in the southern part of the county that can best provide businesses and employees with both access to the world and a familiar feeling of home.

Known by locals as “Miami’s Backyard,” the area of South Dade that covers Homestead, Florida City and the Redland is quickly becoming a highly sought-after spot for various industries and the people who come along with them. Companies considering warehouse space in the South Florida area should know that by anchoring their business in South Dade, they are not only insuring that their business is ideally positioned in the growing “frontier” of Miami-Dade County, but that they are assuring a certain quality of life by placing their employees in an area that allows them to live comfortably without a long commute into a city, and by giving them close proximity to the sky blue waters of the Bay, the green grass of the Everglades and the tropical escape of the Florida Keys.

ComReal’s partners Ed Redlich, Chris Spear, and Mort Fetterolf know how important the community of South Dade is to the success of the entire county, as each have roots there by living in the area and/or playing an integral role in the commercial, industrial and agricultural development of the Homestead/Florida City/Redland neighborhood. They will soon be announcing the availability of a prime, 15-acres commercial site on Krome Avenue. One of the properties that this team is currently showcasing is the largest Class A warehouse building now available in South Dade, which has already has neighbors in critical industries such as logistics, recreational boating, food and beverage, and government industries, to name a few. Interestingly, any warehouse spaces over 10,000 sq. ft. are considered quite large if located south of Miami Int’l. Airport.

Located in the Homestead Park of Commerce, near the iconic Homestead Speedway, this warehouse, ideal for distribution, logistics, or manufacturing companies, is a completely modern and functional warehouse with 64,019 square feet of available space. It is zoned industrial with a fire suppression system and three phase electrical power. With 10 docks, including a drive-in, and up to 28 ft. ceilings, any business that calls this warehouse home will have transportation and storage agility for reliable and efficient import and export service. Additionally, the grounds are fenced and gated with security available, and the building is equipped with high-speed fiber-optics for complete “smart-building” capabilities. Be sure to watch the aerial drone video tour on ComReal’s YouTube Channel (the link is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cc1G35PgiCs&t=12s).

“It has been our observation over the years, that when Miami fills up and becomes too expensive that businesses will turn to South Dade for their growth and expansion.” states Ed Redlich. “There is a lack of available properties in Miami and the pricing is at an all-time high. The traffic and congestion is also the worst it’s ever been. South Dade can offer affordable properties along with a more pleasant working environment and lifestyle.”

The ComReal Team has been assisting companies with their South Florida real estate needs for nearly 40 years and has consistently attracted diverse businesses from outside the area that are looking for economical warehouse and industrial properties in communities that can also offer their employees a convenient and contented lifestyle. Some of the current organizations already operating in the Homestead Park of Commerce  include: Contender Boats, Budweiser, Dunham Bush, Frito Lay, Goodman Air Conditioning, the DEA, FBI, and others. Visit www.MiamiWarehouseTeam.com and/or call 786-433-2380 for more information on how you can base your company in the growing South Dade frontier.

Map of Industrial Real Estate Sub-Markets in South Miami-Dade County