Major Florida international intermodal logistics center being prepared to welcome manufacturers, dis
Author: AJOT | Mar 21 2013 at 08:00 PM | Category: Intermodal
Planned for 40 million square feet of manufacturing and distribution facilities on 4,700 acres, with an additional 2,000 acres available for assembly plants, Americas Gateway Logistics Center will provide international and domestic manufacturers and distributors ample space and cost-effective and efficient access to growing domestic and emerging global markets. (More information can be found online at www.americasgateway.us.)
A recently commissioned job creation study determined that the realization of Americas Gateway has the potential to create a significant number of direct, indirect and induced jobs within southern Florida ' as many as 4,300-plus direct jobs, by the year 2018.
Positive reception of plans for the center from both domestic and international interests prompted Lykes Bros. Inc. and A. Duda & Sons, Inc., two of Florida's well-known, family-owned land companies, to formalize their agreement to implement the plans. Mark Morton, senior vice president of Lykes Land Investments, has been appointed president of the new entity, Americas Gateway Logistics Center, LLC.
Morton said Panattoni's decision to choose Americas Gateway as its major southeastern U.S. project is further indication of the market acceptance for the master planned center. 'Panattoni has chosen Americas Gateway Logistics Center as the right location to develop an international integrated logistics center in Florida.'
'The best integrated logistics centers have access to strong domestic and international markets, connection to multiple air and sea ports, class one rail roads, a non-congested US and state highway system and a workforce ready to be trained and with growth potential,' said Carl Panattoni, chairman of the board of Panattoni Development Company. 'These factors are true of Americas Gateway's location.'
Panattoni Development Company develops, leases and owns industrial and office projects in more than 278 cities throughout the United States, Canada and Europe. Their client list includes over 500 companies, including 50 Fortune 500 companies. The firm has completed in excess of 160 million square feet of commercial projects.
'We are very pleased to have a development partner the caliber of Panattoni join our team,' said Mike Carrere, CEO of Lykes Bros. 'Even more exciting is the potential for job creation that this project will bring to the southern half of Florida and the Heartland region.'
Located just west of the City of Moore Haven, Americas Gateway Logistics Center provides immediate access to existing inland truck routes (US 27 and SR 78), freight rail (SCFE, CSX and FEC), five major seaports (Port of Miami, Port Everglades, Port of Palm Beach, Port Manatee, Port Tampa) and air cargo facilities (Miami International Airport, Southwest Florida International Airport, Air Glades).
The integrated, multi-modal, mixed-use industrial park is planned to serve as a logistics hub for the anticipated increase in goods from China and Asia destined to come through Port Miami and the export of Florida and U.S. goods back to China and Asia upon completion of the widening and deepening of the Panama Canal and improvements to the Port's logistics infrastructure.
'Florida is uniquely positioned to capitalize on the opportunities presented from the increases in world trade, and we believe this location offers many of the strategic advantages sought by those who want to capture those opportunities,' Panattoni said.
Discussions are under way with a variety of prospective tenants, Morton said. The international commercial real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield, the industry leader in the integration of real estate and supply chain services, is the exclusive real estate broker of the project.
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