Baltimore-based Merritt Properties has scooped up Beach Commerce Center at 11840 Beach Boulevard on Jacksonville’s Southside, adding a 46,000-square-foot flex and showroom building to its growing local lineup. The early April deal keeps investor attention firmly locked on smaller industrial and showroom properties along the busy Beach Boulevard corridor, where proximity to I-295 and dense retail clusters continues to lure tenants that need a mix of showroom, warehouse and distribution space.
As reported by the Jacksonville Business Journal, Merritt paid roughly $7 million for the property in a sale that recorded in mid April. That coverage cast the purchase as the latest move in the company’s steady campaign to assemble light industrial holdings across Northeast Florida.
Merritt Expands Its Southside Footprint
The company already lists several Jacksonville assets in its portfolio, including Merritt at Gate Parkway, Imeson Landing Business Park and Magnolia Park, and it continues to pursue development land for Oakleaf Commerce Center, according to Merritt Properties. The firm has been redeploying capital in the Jacksonville market since 2021, using a mix of acquisitions and ground-up projects to build out its small-bay industrial platform.
Deal Details, Seller and Tenants
Public-record reporting shows the deed recorded with the Duval County Clerk lists Merritt-JABB LLC of Baltimore as the buyer and EastGroup Properties L.P. of Orlando as the seller. The building, which sits on about 3.64 acres and was constructed around 2000, traded as part of EastGroup’s local holdings, according to the Jax Daily Record.
The property was roughly 75% occupied at the time of sale, with tenants that include The Floor Club, Urban Technologies and FL Furniture. Brokers Daniel Burkhardt and Alex Caliel of NAI Hallmark represented the seller in the transaction.
Why Small-Bay Space Is Still Drawing Bids
Industry reporting points to a split industrial market across Florida. On one side, big speculative warehouse projects have boosted vacancy in certain submarkets. On the other, smaller-bay flex and showroom spaces, like the one Merritt just bought, remain in high demand from contractors, retailers and last-mile operators that want close-in locations and customer-facing space. A recent statewide commercial real estate review noted that although overall vacancy has inched higher after a development surge, leasing for smaller units and multi-tenant flex buildings has stayed resilient as population growth and nearby retail support localized demand, according to Florida Corporate News.
Merritt described Beach Commerce Center as “well-positioned to meet the continued demand for light industrial and showroom space” in its sale notice and said it plans to keep chasing acquisitions and development opportunities across Northeast Florida, consistent with its Jacksonville listings and the sale reporting. Earlier marketing materials show the property hit the market last year through NAI Hallmark and appeared on commercial platforms such as Crexi, which carried information on the prior sale offering and leasing details.
