- April 26, 2024
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In a move to instill confidence in the county’s industrial economy, a deal was brokered to allow the construction of a new industrial facility in the area.
As part of Project Spec, commercial real estate advisors recently negotiated the sale of a $340,000, 4-acre industrial development site, located at the intersection of U.S. Highway 1 and Otis Stone Hunter Road in Bunnell.
The project, which was first brought to commissioners on June 5, is seeking to increase the number of speculative buildings in the county.
Speculative buildings are buildings constructed with the intent to be placed on the market. They have no prospective tenant during the time of construction.
“It’s a calculated risk, there’s no doubt about that,” said Helga van Eckert, the county's executive director for the department of economic opportunity. “There’s intrinsic risks in building spec buildings, which is why you don’t see them happening during difficult economic times. Now that there’s a renewed confidence in Flagler’s economic future, they’re confident that they’ll be able to find the ability to occupy this site.”
The construction of the 20,000-square-foot building will be headed by new Flagler business Beutlich Development.
“We’re excited to be investing in Flagler County,” partners Erlene Thomas and Jack Beutlich said in a release. “We’ve worked closely with the county’s department of economic opportunity team and local professionals to ensure that once the U.S. Highway 1 Commercial Park is constructed, the project will be something that we can all be proud of.”
Van Eckert said construction will begin by the end of 2017 with a finished product expected by early 2018. The building will most likely be used for light manufacturing and/or distribution.
Van Eckert said the county has had a difficult time attracting industrial companies to the area because of the lack of available facilities. She said most industrial facilities in the area are already occupied.
“The key thing to take from this is that there is a confidence in the future industrial economy in Flagler County,” she said.
