A Massive New Industrial Development Could Soon Rise In Northwest Miami-Dade County

A massive new industrial development could soon rise in northwest Miami-Dade County—if a man-made lake is filled in first.

White Rock East Development LLC, managed by Christopher Vecellio of Palm Beach, has submitted a site plan to the City Council for a 207.3-acre property currently occupied by a rock pit lake. The proposal will be reviewed on August 19. The plan includes a request for a height waiver to build structures up to 95 feet tall, exceeding the current 50-foot limit.

Prologis, a San Francisco-based industrial real estate giant, is listed as the developer on the site plan. The project would be one of the largest industrial developments in Miami-Dade.

Located east of Florida’s Turnpike and west of Countyline Corporate Park—just north of the warehouse at 15002 N.W. 107th Ave—the site would need to be filled before any construction could begin. Boca Raton-based Arcadis designed the plan, which features 13 warehouses totaling 3.83 million square feet, along with a small amount of retail and office space in separate buildings. Most of the lake would be filled in, leaving only a few retention ponds near the Turnpike. Prologis representatives were not available for comment by deadline.

With vacant industrial land scarce in South Florida, developers are increasingly looking to repurpose man-made lakes despite the high cost. Prologis is already working on a similar lake-fill project in Broward County.

According to a Q2 report from Colliers, Miami-Dade’s industrial vacancy rate rose to 6.2%, up from 4.1% a year ago. Average asking rents dipped slightly to $16.59 per square foot from $16.73. Still, strong demand has kept development active, with 4.5 million square feet of industrial space currently under construction—3.4 million of it in the Medley/Hialeah Gardens submarket, which now has the county’s highest vacancy rate at 8.9%.

Source: GlobeSt.