Easton Group and LBA Logistics Go All in on Industrial Sites Outside Miami

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Easton Group and LBA Logistics have acquired a 26.4-acre site for an industrial development in Hialeah, Fla., for $29.4 million.

The site, at 4220 West 91st Place, is located near another 16.8-acre site at the southeast corner of Northwest 144th Street and 109th Avenue that Easton purchased in April 2021, the South Florida Business Journal reported.

The buyers plan to build two spec distribution warehouses totaling 462,954 square feet, complete with 36-foot clear heights. The facility is expected to have 124 trailer stalls and 407 parking spaces.

The firms will start construction in late 2022 with an 18-month expected completion time.

​​DMG Properties, which is co-owned by Alvaro, Alisa and A.J. de Moya, as well as Kevin Carmichael, was the seller in the deal.

LBA Logistics and DMG Properties did not respond to requests for comment.

“Our most recent deal in Hialeah is an important piece to the puzzle for our partnership with LBA, as we now control over 40 acres in this submarket,” Dalton Easton, an associate with Easton Group, told SFBJ. “Our two developments will feature over 725,000 square feet of Class A product, with 200 trailer stalls, 615 parking spaces and 36-foot clear heights.”

Both sites are near where the Florida Turnpike meets U.S. 27. Hialeah Gardens Partners, a group affiliated with Eaton, obtained a $24 million construction loan from U.S. Bank for the site purchased in April 2021. 

Miller Construction will complete the 266,000-square-foot distribution warehouse.

These acquisitions come as industrial vacancies on a national level hit an all-time low in the fourth quarter of 2021, with the majority of growth being seen in coastal markets, according to a recent report from Savills.

Vacancy rates across the U.S. reached a record low of 4.4 percent, the report found, and coastal markets saw increases in average rents of up to 20 percent in some cities.

While Hialeah may not have waterfront access, Mark Russo, head of industrial research for Savills, said the demand for industrial space is largely due to the explosion of e-commerce services since the onset of COVID-19 in March 2020.

Mark Hallum can be reached at mhallum@commercialobserver.com.