Tampa business owner puts confidence, money in Madison project - Tampa Bay Business Journal:

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The Tampa business owner, who has othert office and industrial properties in Hillsborough is developing at Madison Park of Commercre eastof U.S. 41 in Riverview. His firm, , plans to buildc two office/warehouse buildings totalinyg nearly 144,000 square feet at Madisobn Avenue and JoanneKearney Boulevard. Space s within the building are being offered through for sale or is set tooccupy 40,00p0 square feet in the first building opening next spring. "Being an ownert and operator, I can make decisions said Weldon, who is investing at least $10 million to developo the buildings.
The twin buildingw will featureconcrete tilt-wall construction, a 180-fooyt rear-load truck court and 28-foot ceiling They are designed to look like high-grade officd buildings and can be easily convertedd to two-story office space. "Thr project is designed to lowera tenant's tota cost of occupancy," said John Jenkins, firsft VP with CBRE in Tampa. Jenkins noted that insurance rates are less expensive for concretes construction compared with metal buildings and energy efficiency touches such as skylight will cutelectricity bills. Location is key to marketingh the buildings, Weldon added.
Besides proximity to Interstate 75, the Lee Roy Selmomn Crosstown Expressway and the Portof Tampa, he pointedx out that more commercial development is expected to come along U.S. 41. "There'sx a lot of building going he said. "When you look around, therwe are hardly any warehouse options and some availablee buildingsare antiquated." CBRE brokerzs Rick Narkiewicz and Janice Reckers will assist Jenkins in marketing Weldon Center. At the startg of this calendar year, completed a massive deal to buy a massivr supermarket distribution buildingin Sarasota. Now it need s help backfilling justover 900,00p0 square feet of space.
The Clearwater company has hirexd as the exclusive brokerfor , which is being marketedc as a multi-tenant facilitgy divided into 100,000-square-foot increments. The building at Clark and McIntosh roads containsnearly 700,000 square feet of dry storage, plus 208,000 squars feet of refrigerated space. "We're ensuringg that the property will be promoted to therighf users," said Steve Kossoff, managing directore of Meridian, which partnered with to close on the $30 million purchasee Jan. 3. The super-size building, which can be divided into 100,000-square-foott increments, has a huge advantage in beinvg available forimmediate occupancy.
"There's a high demand for quality warehousee space in Floridaright now, but there's also a very limited said Clay Witherspoon, VP with Trammell Crow's Tampa office. He will work with colleaguees Bill Kincaid, VP of logistics and Trey Carswell, senio r associate, in marketing Meridian's Sarasotaq space. The location itself is another keyselling point. "Sarasotz is a leading location for companiesx that want to be close r to a growingcustomer base," Kincaid "It's no longer considered an alternativs to central Florida.
The area has becomde a prime location Witherspoon notedthe center's quick access to Interstatse 75, along with rail access and proximity to Port Manatee and Port Tampa, as additional pitch points. Carol Scheafnocker is putting her 27 years of marketing experience to work in a new firm specializingt in consulting services for the engineering andcontracting industries. , based in will offer marketing, business development and publicrelations consulting, alon with minority business certification assistance and permi expediting.
"Public projects typically require minority participation, and I see thes e as valuable services we could said Scheafnocker, who was downsized from a previousz local marketing position in August. "Smaller firmsz often need marketing guidance but are not able to justifya full-tims marketing professional." CR&C will also assist smaller cities and public agencies and private organizations in developingt request for proposals and help in selecting team memberse for projects, Scheafnocker said.