Tavistock begins light industrial project in Lakewood Ranch

As businesses looking to rent space consider the two new light industrial buildings going up on Lakewood Ranch Boulevard, just south of Professional Parkway, Tavistock Development Company's James Peek said one important item might rank at the top of their list.

"It's Lakewood Ranch," said Peek, a development associate in commercial sales and leasing for Tavistock. "It's nice, and safe."

Peek noted that light industrial buildings aren't always in close proximity to such communities as Waterside, but that is one reason Tavistock is designing this Lakewood Ranch Corporate Park project — two buildings with a combined square footage of 93,022 — "a lot more tastefully."

While he said the design is intended to be functional, he said there are many upgrades in electricity, roof insulation and the roofing itself.

Peek said Tavistock has received interest "across the board" in the types of businesses that would like to move into one of the two buildings once they open in the first quarter of 2026. He said nothing is locked in yet, but he expects interest from medical tech companies, to local gyms and volleyball groups, to home service providers such as those selling sliding glass doors or window dressings.

While he expects businesses to lease parts of the buildings, he wouldn't be surprised if a business took the entire "back" building of 53,070 square feet.

Building One, which is 39,952 square feet, fronts Lakewood Ranch Boulevard while Building Two sits behind it with two 1,000-square-foot parking lots and 150 feet of other space dividing the buildings, The total site is 6.37 acres.

It's another major project for Tavistock in Lakewood Ranch. The company built The Green on State Road 70 which now hosts businesses such as Fresh Market and L.A. Fitness, along with the apartment complexes behind it.

"Schroeder-Manatee Ranch has a long-standing relationship with Tavistock, collaborating on multiple projects to bring high-quality commercial development to our community," said SMR Senior Vice President Laura Cole in an email. "Its latest light industrial project reflects our shared commitment to delivering well-designed, market-driven solutions that meet the evolving needs of our growing region."

Skipper Peek, a senior vice president for Tavistock, and James Peek's father, said his company loves doing business with SMR.

"It's a great community," Skipper Peek said. "SMR does a wonderful job designing the infrastructure and then retaining the quality of the community."

While Tavistock has done some clearing of the land, Skipper Peek said a groundbreaking will be held in about a week. Then construction will speed toward its February completion date.

"Preliminary interest has been very good," Skipper Peek said. "We are cautiously optimistic. We hope we can get some good, quality tenants interested."

SMR is become very limited in space it still owns in Lakewood Ranch, but Skipper Peek said Tavistock would be interested in anything that might come along in the future.

"We have our eye on other things," he said. "We would be delighted to be involved."

Tavistock is based in Orlando. Besides its projects in Lakewood Ranch, Tavistock is known for its Lake Nona project within Orlando.