Red Rocks Development, the organization that built the Amazon distribution facility in northwest Ocala, broke ground on a new 1 million square foot facility.
The new facility will be located at the Florida Crossroads Logistics Center. The center currently houses FedEx, Chewy, and AutoZone, as well, to name a few.
“We are pleased to once again partner with Red Rock Developments and provide financing for the project,” said Brendan Mullinix, Executive Vice President and Chief Investment Officer of Lexington Realty Trust. “The Ocala market’s location and infrastructure make it ideal for statewide distribution, and this will be our second investment in Ocala in less than a year.”
According to the Ocala/Marion County Chamber and Economic Partnership (CEP), Ocala’s location allows distributors to reach 34 million people within a day’s drive, which is 39% greater than the I-4 corridor. The CEP says the 1,085,280 square foot speculative industrial building is the largest spec building to ever be built in the city of Ocala. A “spec” building is built by a licensed contractor on his/her own land for the purpose of resale when there is not a custom contract.
According to the company, the new strategic location allows for same-day distribution to the entire state of Florida – one hour from Orlando and Tampa, two hours from Jacksonville, and four hours from Miami.
“We looked from Fort Myers all the way to [Ocala]. We looked at hundreds of sites, but we think Ocala and Marion County are way above the rest,” said John Barker, Chief Development Officer.
The first phase of Florida Crossroads Logistics Center included a 617,046-square-foot spec distribution center that was leased by Amazon.