Trailhead: 392 Acre Industrial/Mixed-Use Tract For Sale at I-75/Hwy 484 Interchange in Ocala, FL

Ocala, Fla. (February 28, 2020) – Two longtime Marion County landowners have teamed up to offer a single large tract entitled for industrial and commercial development at the I-75/Highway 484 interchange. Deltona Corp. and Marco Polo Builders are combining their two commercial properties into a 392-acre swath that includes extensive frontage on both major roadways.

Marketing the $23 million property is Bartow McDonald, IV, managing director of SVN Florida Commercial Real Estate in Ocala. McDonald said the property is called “Trailhead” because the northern boundary has the potential for direct access to the Marjorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway.

“The large size of Trailhead offers the opportunity to create an exceptional master-planned destination for the ultimate work/play development,” said McDonald. “It incorporates the active outdoor lifestyle.”

Every year, more and more people come to the Greenway to ride their horses and mountain bikes, or to hike along the vast Santos Trail system. According to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, the Cross Florida Greenway encompasses 36,594 acres within Marion County. It’s the largest amount of land within any county traversed by the Greenway and contains more than 200 miles of trails, vastly outdistancing the trail mileage in the other three surrounding counties.

“How cool would it be to walk out of your office, jump on a mountain bike and hit the Santos trails during your lunch break?” McDonald said.

The property’s land use already provides for a wide range of possibilities, including distribution centers, corporate headquarters, residential neighbors, apartments and retail. “We estimate the property can accommodate up to 3 million square feet of new industrial space and over 500,000 square feet of commercial space,” said David Tillman, president of Tillman and Associates Engineering, who is working with the owners.

There are already two national retailers with contracts on outparcels along Highway 484. Several more have presented letters of intent.

Areas near Trailhead have been alive with commercial activity. Dollar Tree recently acquired 198 acres some three miles west of Trailhead on Highway 484 at the new Florida Crossroads Commerce Park with plans to build a $220 million distribution center. It will contain 1.7 million square feet and is expected to create more than 700 jobs. New York-based Reich Brothers acquired a 2 million-square-foot Kmart/Sears distribution center for $70 million – the state’s largest single-building industrial asset.

Farther north on I-75, North Carolina-based Red Rock Developments is under construction on a 46-acre site of a $43 million, 617,000-square-foot warehouse at the Ocala/Marion County Commerce Park.

Marion County itself has a growing number of companies with new distribution centers, including Chewy.com, AutoZone, McLane and FedEx. These companies are eyeing the Ocala market as a strategic location that connects supply chains between the Orlando, Tampa and Jacksonville markets.