EastGroup Starts Three Tampa Warehouse Projects Totaling $73.7M

EastGroup Properties, the Jackson, Mississippi, industrial real estate investment trust, has three Tampa warehouse projects under way totaling 604,000 square feet and about $73.7 million in projected cost, according to its third quarter 2026 results released October 21. The company also raised its full-year development start target to $390 million, and Tampa now accounts for three of the eleven projects EastGroup has started so far this year.

What Happened

EastGroup reported its results after the market closed on Tuesday, October 21 (EastGroup Properties release). The release lists eleven development and redevelopment starts in the first nine months of 2026, totaling 1,932,000 square feet with a projected cost of $284.7 million (EastGroup Properties). Three of those starts are in Tampa: Crossroads 3, Oak Creek 1 and Bell Creek 1 and 2 (EastGroup Properties). Tampa Bay Business and Wealth reported the Tampa figures on October 22 and noted the three projects add up to $73.7 million in projected costs (Tampa Bay Business and Wealth).

In the third quarter alone, EastGroup started four development projects and one redevelopment totaling 998,000 square feet, with projected costs of about $162.2 million (EastGroup Properties). The release does not itemize which projects started in the quarter.

The Tampa Projects

• Bell Creek 1 and 2: 226,000 square feet of new development, projected cost $42.6 million, anticipated transfer to the operating portfolio in October 2028 (EastGroup Properties).
• Crossroads 3: 156,000 square feet of new development, projected cost $26.9 million, anticipated transfer in October 2027 (EastGroup Properties).
• Oak Creek 1: a 222,000-square-foot redevelopment, projected cost $4.2 million, anticipated transfer in October 2027 (EastGroup Properties).

Neither the release nor the Tampa Bay Business and Wealth report names a general contractor or architect for the projects, or gives street addresses (EastGroup Properties) (Tampa Bay Business and Wealth). Tampa Bay Business and Wealth tied Crossroads 3 to the Crossroads Logistics Park in East Tampa (Tampa Bay Business and Wealth), and its earlier coverage noted a 156,000-square-foot Tampa warehouse breaking ground in February 2026 (Tampa Bay Business and Wealth).

Tampa Land Purchase Expands Crossroads

EastGroup also added land in Tampa. In September it bought 30.3 acres known as Crossroads Logistics Park Phase 2 Land for $13,266,000 (EastGroup Properties). The company said the purchase expands the East Tampa park from three buildings totaling about 500,000 square feet to five buildings totaling about 850,000 square feet (EastGroup Properties). That points to roughly 350,000 square feet of additional future warehouse space in the park beyond the buildings already planned or built.

Other Florida Activity

Tampa is not EastGroup's only Florida market. The release shows:

• Orlando: Horizon West 9, a 113,000-square-foot building, moved into the operating portfolio in August at a cumulative cost of about $14.8 million and was 100 percent leased as of October 20 (EastGroup Properties).
• Melbourne: In September, EastGroup bought 7.5 acres of Crane Creek Commerce Center land for $2,781,000, planned for a future building of about 69,000 square feet (EastGroup Properties).
• Miami: In October, the company acquired 24.9 acres of development land for about $48 million, planned for two buildings totaling about 371,000 square feet (EastGroup Properties). In July it sold a separate 6.9-acre Miami parcel for $14,250,000 (EastGroup Properties).

Taken together, the Tampa starts, the Crossroads land, the Melbourne parcel and the Miami land give EastGroup a sizable future building pipeline in Florida, although the company does not break out its development pipeline by market (EastGroup Properties).

The Wider Development Program

At the end of September, EastGroup had 21 development and redevelopment projects in progress across 14 markets, totaling 4,061,000 square feet with a projected total cost of $636.7 million (EastGroup Properties). About $251.5 million of that cost remained to be invested as of September 30, and the pipeline was 25 percent leased as of October 20 (EastGroup Properties).

Starts so far this year outside Florida include projects in Tucson, Houston, Charlotte, Atlanta, San Diego, San Antonio and Fort Worth (EastGroup Properties). The largest by cost is the $53.1 million Miramar Business Center in San Diego, at 60,000 square feet, and the largest by size is Basswood 6 and 7 in Fort Worth, at 294,000 square feet and $40.6 million (EastGroup Properties). After quarter end, EastGroup started Gateway Interchange C, D and E in Phoenix, about 295,000 square feet with a projected cost of $54.3 million (EastGroup Properties).

Seven projects totaling 1,344,000 square feet moved into the operating portfolio during the first nine months, at a cumulative cost of $145.7 million (EastGroup Properties). They were 94 percent leased as of October 20, with a projected stabilized yield of 9.4 percent, or 7.7 percent excluding a Los Angeles redevelopment (EastGroup Properties).

Guidance and Market Conditions

EastGroup raised its 2026 development start guidance to $390 million, or about 2.5 million square feet, from $325 million (EastGroup Properties). It also raised its operating property acquisition guidance to $360 million from $215 million (EastGroup Properties). After the quarter, the company bought about 1,031,000 square feet of buildings and 25 acres of land for about $262 million, including distribution properties in northeast Dallas, at DFW Airport and in north Denver, along with the Miami land (EastGroup Properties).

The operating portfolio was 97.3 percent leased and 96.5 percent occupied at September 30, and average month-end occupancy for the quarter was 96.1 percent, up from 95.7 percent a year earlier (EastGroup Properties). Rents on new and renewal leases signed in the quarter rose an average of 36.3 percent on a straight-line basis (EastGroup Properties). Funds from operations were $2.45 per diluted share, up 7.9 percent from $2.27 a year earlier (EastGroup Properties).

CEO Marshall Loeb said the team and portfolio "performed ahead of expectations this quarter and so far this year" and that he remains "bullish on the continuing external trends benefitting our shallow bay, last mile, high-growth market portfolio" (EastGroup Properties). He described the leasing environment as "much more stable than headlines would lead one to expect" (EastGroup Properties). The release's risk factors list higher construction and development costs, including from tariffs or inflation, as a risk to results (EastGroup Properties).

Context for Tampa Bay

The Tampa starts follow AGC data showing Tampa among the metros that added construction jobs in August, as WCG reported. Nationally, the industrial pipeline has steadied after a slower stretch, as noted in U.S. Industrial Construction Pipeline Ticks Back Up as Market Stabilizes in 2026.

Implications for Owners, Developers, Contractors and Subs

• Tilt-wall and site work: Three Tampa projects totaling 604,000 square feet (Tampa Bay Business and Wealth), plus room for additional buildings at Crossroads (EastGroup Properties), mean continued demand for site, concrete, tilt-wall, roofing and electrical trades in East Tampa and the surrounding industrial corridors.
• Phased delivery: Transfer dates run from October 2027 to October 2028 (EastGroup Properties), so work will be staggered rather than bunched, which helps subs plan crews.
• Redevelopment scope: Oak Creek 1 is a 222,000-square-foot redevelopment at a projected $4.2 million (EastGroup Properties), far below new-build cost per foot. Interior upgrades, dock work, roofing and code improvements on existing buildings are a steady line of work alongside ground-up projects.
• Cost discipline: EastGroup flags tariff and inflation risk on construction costs (EastGroup Properties). Contractors bidding these projects should expect owners to push for firm pricing and clear escalation terms.
• Florida-wide pipeline: Land buys in Melbourne and Miami (EastGroup Properties) suggest future starts beyond Tampa for firms working statewide.

What to Watch

• Contractor selection and permitting for Bell Creek 1 and 2 and the remaining Crossroads buildings.
• Leasing at the Tampa projects ahead of their 2027 and 2028 transfer dates.
• Whether EastGroup hits its raised $390 million start target by year end (EastGroup Properties).
• Timing of the Miami two-building project on the newly acquired 24.9 acres (EastGroup Properties).

Bottom Line

EastGroup is putting $73.7 million into three Tampa warehouse projects and buying land for more, while raising its development goals across its Sun Belt markets. For Tampa Bay contractors, that means a phased run of industrial work through 2028, with more possible at the expanded Crossroads Logistics Park.

Related Coverage

• U.S. Industrial Construction Pipeline Ticks Back Up as Market Stabilizes in 2026
• Only Half of U.S. Metros Added Construction Jobs; Rochester and Tampa Post Gains
• Michelin, RLCold, Ross Add 3M SF at Wonderful Logistics Center in California

Image credit: Matthew Jackson on Unsplash. Representative photo; no project image was available from the sources.

Sources

• EastGroup Properties, via PR Newswire, "EastGroup Properties Announces Third Quarter 2026 Results": https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/eastgroup-properties-announces-third-quarter-2026-results-302915970.html
• Tampa Bay Business and Wealth, "Developer Plans $73.7 Million in Tampa Warehouse Projects": https://tbbwmag.com/2026/10/22/tampa-warehouse-projects/