Orlando-based commercial flooring firm International Flooring, Inc. paid more than $3.3 million in recent weeks for a Winter Garden warehouse property that will more than quadruple its current operating space, leaving ample room for growth.
Located at 720 Crown Point Cross Road, the 2.41-acre parcel includes a 36,556-square-foot industrial building dating to 2005. The sale closed April 13.
“We are very fortunate to have survived the recession and grow the business,” CEO Chris Zimmerman told GrowthSpotter, who added several large contracts recently awarded that include phase two of the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts with Whiting-Turner, the new JW Marriott at Bonnet Creek Resort with PCL Construction Services, and work on Disney’s All-Star Sports Resort with Vision Three Sixty.
“Our old location has served us well for the last 15 years,” Zimmerman said, noting that more recently they had been leasing off-site space to accommodate the expanding business.
“The new location will facilitate our growth throughout the state,” he continued. “We are expanding our services to store [furniture, fixtures and equipment] until these projects are ready.”
The company will move in on May 1, but plans are already in place for design changes inside and out. International Flooring has partnered with Florida Paints for exterior work; Construction Unlimited has been named general contractor for the balance of the renovations.
It’s been an interesting 28-year climb for the company, which Zimmerman started – literally – out of the back of a van after graduating high school. Initially residential-based, word of mouth helped the business expand. Zimmerman hired childhood friends whose interest in success didn’t mesh with a college-based plan.
“We made a name for ourselves and have traveled all over the world for owners and manufacturers supporting their needs,” Zimmerman said. “Since then we have expanded into all sectors of the commercial flooring market, focusing our efforts on the Florida region.”
International Flooring is in expansion mode, he said, looking to hire a range of positions including administrators, project managers and a superintendent.
The seller was Image Technical Services, Inc., a graphic design/web development firm, which purchased the parcel in 2004 at a price of $345,800, then constructed the building for their purposes. Cory Kroeger of Kroeger & Co. served as listing agent.
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