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Industrial Real Estate Developments

Vermeer Southeast, heavy equipment dealer, plans new Ocoee sales, corporate center

Growthspotter
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Vermeer Southeast sells new and used construction equipment like this 19.5-ton directional drill, which is used for utility construction.

Vermeer Southeast sells new and used construction equipment like this 19.5-ton directional drill, which is used for utility construction. (handout)

Heavy equipment dealer Vermeer Southeast will double its sales center and office space with a new purpose-built headquarters just off the S.R. 429 toll road in Ocoee.

Owner Kris Den Besten told GrowthSpotter he closed on 8.7-acres at the corner of Palm Drive and Ocoee-Apopka Road on Thursday and plans to start construction as soon as possible on the nearly 28,000-square-foot building. The plan calls for a new 8,000-square-foot showroom with second-floor offices, plus a 10-bay service center.

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"For what we do, we cover beyond the Orlando market, down to Lakeland and Gainesville and Daytona," Den Besten said. "A lot of our customers will be able to get there a lot quicker."

Heavy equipment dealer Vermeer Southeast purchased this 8.7-acre greenfield for a new headquarters and sales/service center on Ocoee-Apopka Road.

Heavy equipment dealer Vermeer Southeast purchased this 8.7-acre greenfield for a new headquarters and sales/service center on Ocoee-Apopka Road. (Orange County Property Appraiser)

Vermeer Southeast has been the exclusive dealer for Vermeer equipment for 50 years. The company has nine locations across three states, and has maintained a sales center on Winter Garden Road for 48 years, Den Besten said.

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"We outgrew it years ago," he said. "We've been hanging in there, but this will more than double our shop space."

The company had also been leasing a separate office space for its corporate headquarters, and the new facility would allow it to consolidate operations. The Vermeer building is just part of what could eventually be a multi-phased campus on the greenfield.

Den Besten filed a preliminary site plan with the St. Johns River Water Management District for two additional buildings: a 45,416-square-foot showroom, regional office and warehouse for flooring supplier Trinity Surfaces and a 17,058-square-foot multipurpose building that could serve as a wellness center for employees of both companies and additional retail or office space.

C4 Architecture is designing both the Vermeer and Trinity buildings. Stephens Barrios is the civil engineer. Vermeer's total investment for its building is at $5 million.

A Vermeer affiliate paid $1.7 million to buy the land from a real estate holding company for the owners of Crawford Tires.

"It was a good piece for what we want to do," Den Besten said. "We worked with the City of Ocoee upfront to make sure we could do what we needed. They were good to work with."

Have a tip about Central Florida development? Contact me at lkinsler@GrowthSpotter.com or (407) 420-6261, or tweet me at @LKinslerOGrowth. Follow GrowthSpotter on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

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