LAKELAND, Fla. — With 75 stores to serve in Florida, Ashley Furniture has acquired a 705,000-square-foot facility in Lakeland, Florida, between Tampa and Orlando, according to public property transfer records. The building is part of the 740-acre Lakeland Central Park industrial area that is under construction.
Polk County, Florida, records show the buyer as Stoneledge Furniture, which is the parent company of Ashley Furniture. The sale price was $71 million. Without naming Ashley, the industrial park’s developer, Parkway, describes the acquisition as “marking a significant milestone as the first major user” of the industrial park.
I’ve reached out to Ashley’s media relations to confirm that the plan is to make the new facility a warehouse and distribution center, but haven’t yet heard back. It’s difficult to imagine the cross-dock facility being used for anything else, and at least two metro business newspapers are reporting it as a warehouse and distribution center…