A Jackson, Mississippi, real estate investment trust has embarked on its first venture in Miami-Dade County — and already there's bad blood with a developer who claims he is a spurned partner.

EastGroup Properties Inc. plans to build an 850,000-square-foot warehouse and commerce center southwest of Florida's Turnpike and County Line Road, records show. The company bought the 55-acres, formerly the practice track and stables at Calder Casino & Race Course, in November 2016 for $26.5 million.

But developer David C. Metalonis said he introduced EastGroup to the site and revealed his plans for the well-placed acreage, but EastGroup went behind his back to buy the land and pursue the project Metalonis envisioned as a joint venture, according to a lawsuit filed Oct. 12 in Miami-Dade Circuit Court.