South Florida Industrial Pipeline Falls 42% as Developers Pull Back
Tri-county industrial construction fell to 3M SF from 5.2M SF a year ago, Colliers Q3 data show, as $350/SF costs meet $16-$18 rents.
South Florida’s industrial construction pipeline has shrunk 42% in a year. Colliers Q3 2026 data cited by Bisnow put space under construction across Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade at 3M SF, down from 5.2M SF.
Why it matters
Tenants are still leasing, but developers are not building ahead of them. All three counties posted positive absorption in Q3, yet speculative starts have stalled on cost. Ed Easton, CEO of The Easton Group, which has not built since 2023, told a Bisnow conference panel: “Nobody’s going to take a speculative venture on for a projected 3% return.”
The numbers
- Miami-Dade pipeline: 1.8M SF, from 3M SF a year earlier, after 1.4M SF delivered in Q3. Eighteen buildings are underway, mostly in Northeast Dade and Miami Airport West.
- Broward: 994K SF, from 1.4M SF. Palm Beach: 277K SF, from 735K SF.
- Vacancy: Miami-Dade 7.7%, Broward 7.5%, Palm Beach 8.5%, up a point.
- Cost versus rent: a new warehouse runs about $350/SF, and rents of roughly $23/SF net are needed to justify it. Tri-county rents average $16 to $18/SF triple net.
- Miami-Dade absorbed 1.4M SF in Q3, led by Pepsi and Ryder.
Our own permit wire, which tracks permits of $2M or more, shows the same thin flow. Between Sept. 17 and Oct. 9 it logged two new industrial permits, both in Miami-Dade: $15M at 2210 NW 14th St, issued Sept. 24, and $2.4M at 14130 SW 136th St, issued Sept. 30. It logged none in Broward. We covered the first in a 7-story warehouse permit in Allapattah.
What’s next
For land, the gap between $23 and $16 to $18 rents caps what a builder can pay for an industrial site, so expect pricing pressure on parcels that pencil only at peak rents. Power is the other drag: Jordan Cater of MLCO Construction said it is usually the slowest lead-time item, and some equipment takes one to two years to arrive.
Lease-up timing favors whoever delivers next. With vacancy under 8% in Miami-Dade and Broward and the pipeline shrinking, FRP Holdings’ planned 300K SF Broward logistics center would reach a tight market, if it breaks ground. More on South Florida development is on the market hub.
On the record
Primary record
- PermitOur permit wire shows two new industrial permits of $2M or more in Miami-Dade between Sept. 17 and Oct. 9, including a $15M permit at 2210 NW 14th St issued Sept. 24, and none in Broward.View the record on miamidade.gov
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