Colliers International South Florida office and industrial services executive managing director Jonathan Kingsley, left, and director Ryan Goggins, both based in Fort Lauderdale. Courtesy photos. Colliers International South Florida office and industrial services executive managing director Jonathan Kingsley, left, and director Ryan Goggins, both based in Fort Lauderdale. Courtesy photos.

The strong South Florida industrial market prompted a surge in institutional investment and tenant demand, making for a busy year for two Colliers International brokers.

Office and industrial services executive managing director Jonathan Kingsley and director Ryan Goggins, both based in Fort Lauderdale, closed over $18.2 million worth of leases on behalf of Chicago-based institutional investor and landlord Nuveen LLC.

The seven leases, both renewals and new deals, are for a total of 190,512 square feet at the Pointe West Commerce Center II in Davie and the Westpoint Industrial Centre in Tamarac. Nuveen owns both through affiliates.

Nuveen is part of TIAA, the New York-based teachers retirement fund and life insurance company that expanded to provide financial services to the research, medical, cultural and governmental fields.

Kingsley and Goggins closed one lease in January, a second in March, three in April and two in June.

The biggest deal was the new $7.6 million lease of 66,270 square feet at Westpoint to car-wash equipment supplier Sonny's The Car Wash Factory in June.

Cable and wire harness manufacturer KSM Electronics Inc. renewed its 41,520-square-foot Westpoint lease for $5.98 million.

At Pointe West, The Rick Case Automotive Group renewed its 23,400-square-foot lease for $1.3 million in June. Elevator and escalator provider Kone signed a new 10,400-square-foot lease for $575,500 in April.

The 100,500-square-foot Pointe West building is northwest of Interstate 75 and Griffin Road at 15712 SW 41st St. Westpoint is an industrial park where two of three centers are fully leased northeast of the Sawgrass Expressway and Commercial Boulevard at 6001 N. Hiatus Road.

For the other leases, air conditioning company Daikin's renewed for 22,332 square feet for $997,284 at Pointe West; heating, ventilation and air conditioning supplier Gemaire renewed for 18,438 square feet for $1.2 million at Westpoint; and Nestlé renewed for 8,152 square feet for $567,859 at Westpoint.

The leases were signed as Broward County industrial vacancies crept up to 4.1%, which is still a tight market compared the 8% rate five years ago, according to a Colliers report.

“While we have seen some moderation in South Florida's industrial market coming off of a strong 2018, the market's overall fundamentals remain strong,” Goggins said. “We remain optimistic about economic conditions and demand for additional industrial space as the region continues to grow.”

The duo's work for Nuveen is part of nearly $36 million in industrial leases that Colliers closed in South Florida in the first half of the year.

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