ORLANDO—A Nebraska investor is getting in on the Central Florida industrial boom. Gerald J. Keating just snapped up four distribution centers for $3.5 million. The price is small but the plans are big.

Three of the industrial properties are in Tampa. One of them is in the white hot Plant City. All told, Keating's recent industrial investments in Florida total nearly 1 million square feet.

"Increased market activity has reduced the supply of similar in-fill options in Tampa and Plant City," says Edward Miller, who represented the seller along with Dolores Seymore of Colliers International Tampa Bay. "These properties are undergoing a multi-million dollar renovation and will respond to the growing demand among industrial users."

The three Tampa industrial buildings sit on a total of 22.8 acres. Multiple CSX Railroad with multiple rail docks serve the buildings, which have eight acres of trailer parking. The Plant City building is located three miles from exit 21 on Interstate 4 and has two acres of outside fenced storage.

"Attention on the I-4 corridor is bringing attention to local communities," Kostas Stoilas, a senior associate at CBRE Industrial & Logistics in Tampa, tells GlobeSt.com. "Plant City is full of business success stories and future development potential, including large-scale residential developments, which spark economic development. Economists at the University of South Florida project that, upon completion, Lakeside Station may create over 18,000 new jobs and an annual spending increase of $2.3 billion. The site is also within 200 miles of 18.4 million potential customers."

The industrial buildings are located at 1601 North 50th Street, 5035 Uceta Road, and 5024 Uceta Road in Tampa, and 209-211 South Alexander Street in Plant City.

All four distribution centers are Keating acquired are equipped to provide freezer and cold storage for food or other items, a feature not commonly offered in industrial space. Colliers will market the distribution centers for lease or sale to cold and dry storage users and companies needing additional acreage for outside storage. 

Want to know more about the main factors driving Tampa Bay's industrial market and what could be the next "big thing" in industrial? Read my recent column: What's Sparking Tampa Bay's Industrial Fire?