South Miami-Dade Is Adding Thousands of New Residents. The Businesses That Serve Them Will Need Industrial Space

Housing construction is pushing steadily south and west in Miami-Dade, and a cluster of recently completed and financed projects from Kendall to Homestead points to the next wave of demand for the small industrial and flex buildings that serve growing neighborhoods. Traded has reported each of the projects below.

What is being built

Housing Trust Group and Elite Equity Development completed the $115 million Naranja Grand, two eight-story buildings with 320 income-restricted apartments on about 5.3 acres at SW 147th Avenue in South Miami-Dade. Aconcagua Developers is moving ahead with the final phase of Casa Princeton near Homestead, 162 more apartments backed by a $35 million construction loan, which will bring the community to 374 units. Its amenity list includes Amazon lockers, a small sign of how much delivery traffic new households generate. In Kendall, Casa Familia and Pinnacle completed a 50-unit affordable building, and in West Kendall MMG Equity Partners secured $21.5 million for Coral Nest, 38 townhomes and nearly 25,000 square feet of retail at Coral Way and SW 144th Avenue. The county faces an estimated shortage of 70,000 to 90,000 affordable rental homes, so more of this is coming.

Why rooftops create industrial demand

Every new household needs electricians, plumbers, air-conditioning service, pest control, appliance repair, landscaping and a steady stream of deliveries. The companies providing those services run out of small warehouses and flex bays, ideally within a short drive of their customers. In South Miami-Dade, much of the existing industrial stock is concentrated far to the north, around the airport and in Medley and Doral, so service businesses serving Homestead, Princeton and West Kendall face long drives or scarce local space. Countywide, Miami-Dade’s office-service and flex vacancy was just 1.9% in the second quarter, according to Cushman & Wakefield.

What this means for you

If you own industrial-zoned land or small warehouses in South Dade, the population growth around you is building your tenant base. Small-bay and flex product is the type most in demand. If you run a service business expanding south, secure space close to your customers before more competitors do. If you are an investor or developer, last-mile and small-bay industrial in growing residential corridors is one of the clearer demand stories in the county.

AXCESS Commercial works with owners and businesses across Miami-Dade, leasing space, listing properties for sale and managing industrial buildings.

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