(Crystal Proenza is associate editor of Real Estate Florida.)

JACKSONVILLE, FL-Arts and crafts specialty retailer Michaels Stores Inc. has signed a 270,000-square-foot lease agreement to occupy a building at 4300 Bulls Bay Highway inside the Westside Industrial Park. Terms of lease were not disclosed. The facility was originally built in 1991 for luggage giant Samsonite Corp., which is relocating to a new 800,000-square-foot, $35 million distribution center at Imeson International Industrial Park.

Michaels will use the space as a seasonal goods distribution center and plans to occupy the building this summer, according to CB Richard Ellis, which represented the tenant in the transaction. The company currently owns and operates over 1,000 Michaels stores throughout North America, along with 161 Aaron Bros. stores. The tenant's new location is owned by its original developer, Stone Mountain Industrial Park Inc., an affiliate of Atlanta-based Pattillo.

"Just as Samsonite is moving out after 15 years, Michaels is moving in," Pattillo CEO Larry Callahan tells GlobeSt.com, adding that renovations are under way at the building. A new roof has just been completed and the company is converting the building to accommodate the new tenant by installing truck bays on both sides of the facility.