EdisonCRE spots $203–$273/SF
- EdisonCRE said institutional cold-storage assets in South Florida are trading at roughly $203 to $273 per square foot, tying the pricing to scarce infill sites and stronger investor demand. - EdisonCRE’s broader South Florida research says new cold-storage construction now runs about $130 to $350 per square foot, while standard distribution warehouses cost roughly $78 to $85. - That cost gap is pushing lenders and developers toward pre-leasing and build-to-suit deals instead of speculative projects in Miami and nearby markets. (warehousesmarket.com)
Institutional cold-storage buildings in South Florida are trading around $203 to $273 per square foot, according to EdisonCRE. (warehousesmarket.com) EdisonCRE said the pricing reflects a market where refrigerated warehouses remain scarce even as Miami’s broader warehouse inventory has grown. The firm pointed to investor demand for temperature-controlled logistics tied to food, grocery and pharmaceutical distribution. (warehousesmarket.com) The same firm said building new cold storage in Miami and other major U.S. cities now costs about $130 to $350 per square foot in 2025. EdisonCRE compared that with roughly $78 to $85 per square foot for standard distribution centers. (warehousesmarket.com) Those higher costs come from refrigeration systems, thicker insulation, vapor barriers, taller clear heights and stricter food-safety, environmental and energy rules. EdisonCRE said energy can account for 25% or more of operating expenses in large facilities. (warehousesmarket.com) South Florida adds another layer of cost because industrial land near ports, airports and dense population centers is limited and expensive. EdisonCRE said specialized contractors are harder to find there, which pushes total project budgets higher. (warehousesmarket.com) The result is a financing shift away from speculative development. EdisonCRE said lenders increasingly want pre-leasing or build-to-suit commitments before backing new cold-storage projects. (warehousesmarket.com) That caution is showing up alongside bigger, tenant-driven projects. Miami International Airport, PortMiami, the Mandich Group, Cold-Link Logistics and Reveam broke ground in July 2025 on a $141 million perishables and cold-chain facility scheduled to open in 2027. (news.miami-airport.com) (reveam.com) Nationally, cold-storage vacancy was 4.4% in the first quarter of 2024, according to Newmark material published by the Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate. That was 160 basis points below the overall industrial average. (afire.org) For South Florida owners and buyers, the message in EdisonCRE’s pricing is straightforward: existing cold-storage space is expensive to replace, and new supply is getting harder to pencil without committed users. (warehousesmarket.com 1) (warehousesmarket.com 2)
