DAVENPORT, FL-AMB Property Corp. plans to triple its industrial space near the Interstate 4-US 27 interchange after leasing the remaining space in its initial building there. The San Francisco-based developer aims to start construction on three buildings totaling 800,000 sf at its AMB Four Corners Business Park this fall.

The newly completed AMB Palmetto Distribution Center, totaling 406,000 sf, is now at capacity after Kuehne + Nagel leased 141,000 sf on behalf of nearby Walt Disney World, which will use the space for remote storage. Best Buy Co. preleased 265,000 sf in the warehouse last summer while it was under construction.

AMB recently bought its next 52-acre site, south of I-4 along Home Run Boulevard near the former Boardwalk and Baseball amusement park. The company is now seeking entitlements for the first 450,000-sf to be built there, according to Jay Cornforth, senior vice president and managing director of AMB's East Region.

"There is very limited industrial land at that location, so we feel very fortunate that we were able to pick up this great piece of land," Cornforth tells GlobeSt.com. He adds that competing industrial developers have either secured or are scouting sites farther west along I-4 or south on US 27, as the interchange continues to develop into a statewide distribution hub.

AMB has more than 1.8 million sf of industrial space in its Orlando portfolio, which includes Davenport, and plans another 800,000-sf development near Orlando International Airport in addition to its Four Corners project. It also has approximately six million sf of operating and development space in South Florida, making it that market's largest industrial landlord, Cornforth says.

With more than 150 million sf worldwide in 14 countries, AMB is focused on major gateway distribution markets and seeks to develop industrial space at or near ports and airports, Cornforth says. The company's solid financial position allows it to seek sites for development in markets where it anticipates future growth, beyond the current economic downturn, he says.

"We're a long-term owner and take a long-term view, and the land positions being acquired are very strategic," he says. "We look at this as an opportunity to replenish our pipeline with fewer competitors for land."