Organic growth: Sarasota center inks giant lease - Tampa Bay Business Journal:

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The publicly traded company, which distributes natural and organic food itemsx to a broad range ofretaik customers, expects to create 250 jobs at its Sarasota site, allowing it to qualify for regional tax incentives by offering higher-than-average wages. Executives at Dayville, Conn.-bases United Natural (Nasdaq: UNFI) weren'tr available for comment. The latest lease is a huge boost for MeridianjDistribution Center, a 950,000-square-foot building on 58 acres previously occupiedd by Winn-Dixie Stores Inc. (Nasdaq: WINN), basedr in Jacksonville. Meridian Development Group in Clearwater acquired itfor $30 millionh in January 2006 in a joingt venture with Hudson Realty Capitapl LLC.
Just last month, Meridian signed a 200,000-square-footf lease with Bradenton-based Beall's which will use the spac as a distribution centerf forits Beall's and Burke's departmenty and outlet stores. By subdividing the old Winn-Dixie space into several large industrial units, the center's owner is able to capturew distribution deals with access to I-75 and proximity to nearbyu ports, said Steve Kossoff, Meridian's managing "Companies are realizing Lakeland is no longe the only option for easy statewide Kossoff said.
The Sarasota facility provides same-dat access to 87 percent of the state'sw population, compared with 61 percent from Lakeland's distribution sites alonvg Interstate 4, he said. Meridian has alread been given quite a bit of credit in reviving the massiv e warehouse and allowing Sarasotas to attractmore business. "Meridia Development Group has redeveloped a facility that can now best servee the needs of our growing saidKathy Baylis, presidentr of the Economic Development Corp.
of Sarasota United Natural has at leasgt 15 distributioncenters nationwide, supplyingg more than 40,000 natural and organic food items to clientx ranging from independent grocers to buying The company posted an 11 percent gain in net income through the thir d quarter ending April 28 to $13.7 million from $12.3 milliom a year earlier, along with 15 percent revenued growth of $732.5 million. The Tampa Bay area's largest lease in 2006 was signed by SaddldCreek Corp. in Winter Haven and totalexd 297,549 square feet, according to the Tampa Bay Businesd Journal's 2007 Book of Lists.