Gatewood Corporate Park would add 537,000 square feet of industrial flex space at Lakewood Ranch

Harrod Properties of Tampa hopes to break ground by year’s end on 537,000 square feet of industrial flex space on 88.5 acres at Lakewood Ranch.

Manatee County is fast-tracking the permitting request that would allow construction of seven buildings south of Gatewood Drive and east of Lakewood Ranch Boulevard, according to papers filed with the county.

Founded in 1990, Harrod is a commercial real estate company that designs, builds, leases and manages office and industrial buildings, according to the company web site.

The company owns 4.5 million square feet of space in the Tampa Bay area. It has been involved with the development of more than 15 million square feet of space in the past 25 years.

Construction at Gatewood Corporate Park would start with a 60,000-square-foot warehouse and a 100,000-square-foot building, said Stephen Racine, vice president of leasing and development.

A few of the company’s other projects include Cypress Bay I Corporate Center in Tampa’s Westshore Business District, the FedEx Distribution Center in Albuquerque, N.M., Independence Medical Village in Plano, Texas, Parallon Business Performance Group in Largo, and Wendover Art Group in Largo.

Harrod’s introduction to Manatee County was through the work it did on Feld Entertainment’s 522,699-square-foot facility in Ellenton.

“We have had an excellent relationship with Manatee County,” Racine said. “It’s a business-friendly community.”

Harrod was drawn to the growing business needs in Manatee and Sarasota counties, and specifically to Lakewood Ranch for its easy access to Interstate 75, Racine said.

“It’s a great location,” he said.

The company hopes to close on the property with seller Schroeder-Manatee Ranch within a few weeks, Racine said, declining to offer the sales price.

Gatewood Corporate Park would be located on the north side of Lakewood Ranch, with Crowder Bros. Ace Hardware to its west and south.

Gatewood is being built on speculation, and the pace of development will be dictated by the business interest it generates, Racine said.

Comments on the project by Manatee County staff are due by Oct. 5.

This story was originally published September 28, 2016 at 4:02 PM with the headline "Gatewood Corporate Park would add 537,000 square feet of industrial flex space at Lakewood Ranch."