(Carl Cronan is editor of Real Estate Florida.)
LAKELAND, FL-Rooms To Go Inc. is proceeding with plans to build a 700,000-sf expansion of its local home furnishings distribution center on 44 acres of industrial land along Airport Road. Coldwell Banker Commercial Saunders Real Estate says it recently closed on the $3-million sale, with the property having been under contract since this past spring.
GlobeSt.com previously reported that Rooms to Go was seeking to add on to its 1.7-million-sf warehouse next to the site, which used to be a cattle farm. Siblings Jerry Tanner and Nan Tanner Ledoux sold the property to Seaman Development Corp., an entity belonging to Rooms To Go CEO Jeffrey Seaman, who was unavailable for comment late last week.
The Tanner family has owned the two parcels making up Rooms To Go's new site since the 1940s, with extended ownership dating as far back as 1906. "We are at a point in life where we don't have the time to work it," Jerry Tanner says. "Rooms To Go gave a good presentation of use and was very professional in all aspects of the transaction."
Tanner notes that the property will be better served as an economic engine for the Lakeland area, which has long been a key distribution site for various consumer goods. Rooms To Go, based in nearby Seffner, has 800 employees at its current warehouse and is expected to add more jobs when the expanded space opens in 2010.
Despite the housing market downturn in Florida, Rooms To Go posted sales of nearly $1.8 billion last year. The company, which specializes in sales of furniture suites rather than individual pieces, constantly rotates its inventory for quick delivery and has 150 showrooms in nine Southeastern states.
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