O cala
• According to Matt Grow, the airport director, the update “maintains the infrastructure and the level of safety that everyone expects on behalf of the airport” and, that once the project is complete, the airport will have “an A-rating as far as infrastructure.”
Source: Ocala Star Banner, October 14, 2019
Roger Maris’ Ocala warehouse sells for $2 million • A former beer distribution warehouse has sold for $2 million by a company associated with scaffolding system manufacturer Layher.
• The company plans to move its operations to the 34,000-square-foot location in November, an upgrade from their current leased-space by the Ocala international Airport. The new facility is larger than the current one and has an additional 10 acres for possible future expansions. • The Ocala facility will be used to handle all distribution of the equipment across the southeast.
Source: Ocala Star Banner, October 23, 2019
School District gets state apprenticeship carpentry grant • Marion Technical Scholarship has received a $186,276 grant from Pathways to Career Opportunities to help establish a carpentry apprenticeship program.
• The grant allows the college to partner with Marion County Building Industry Association to train carpenters, and to partner with Marion Technical Institute high school, whose construction program will become a preapprenticeship site.
Ocala distribution center sells for $70 million
• Ocala’s Kmart Distribution Center sold for $70 million to a New York-based industrial retail firm. The 2-million-square-foot building is Florida’s largest single-building industrial facility. • The facility has already changed owners once this year, following Sears Holding’s assets being sold for $5.2 billion to Sears Chairman Edward Lampert. The distribution sale sold for $58.4 million as part of the Sears bankruptcy sale.
• The new owners, the Reich Brothers, are leasing the property back to Transformco, the “New Sears,” so operations will continue as normal.
Source: Ocala Star Banner, November 18, 2019
New apartments coming to West Palm Beach’s Warehouse District
• Eastwind Development, a Palm Beach Gardens based company, broke ground on Thursday for The District Flats, a new 178-unit apartment complex. Construction is expected to be completed in 2021. • The new building will include a 250-space parking garage, a dog park, and large mural. It will be located near attractions such as the Grandview Public Market, Steam Horse Brewery, and Steel Tie Spirits distillery of the Warehouse District.
• 20 percent of the apartments will be offered at a discounted rental price to low-income tenants in Palm Beach County.
Source: Ocala Star Banner, December 6, 2019
• The grant will also allow for the program to hire a program manager, establish standards, create a marketing plan, and purchase needed equipment and materials. The Marion Technical College program will open in 2020 with 15 apprentices.
Source: Ocala Star Banner, November 17, 2019
Institute for Economic Forecasting
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