Two companies announced on Tuesday a joint acquisition of a site to be used as South Florida's first-ever cold storage project to be delivered on a speculative basis.

Bridge Development Partners, an industrial real estate developers, and PGIM Real Estate, the global real estate investment and financing business of Prudential Financial, Inc., acquired a 20-acre site in Hialeah, Fla.

They say the investment decision comes in direct response to a higher demand for temperature-controlled spaces for imported perishables from South and Central America.

Stemming in part from consumer preference for fresh produce and online grocery delivery, demand for cold storage is at an "all-time high across the region", according to Senior Vice President of Cold Storage and Bridge Brian Niven.

The strategic venture allows the two businesses to "capitalize on industrial real estate's hottest growing sector - cold storage", Niven said in a statement.

The facility's design keeps flexibility in mind and can accommodate multiple tenants. It will feature a front-load design with 50' clear heights to maximize storage efficiency.

A refrigeration system will provide a broad-reaching cooling ranging from -10 degrees Fahrenheit to 55 degrees. This means the building will be equipped for both freezer and cooler users, detailed the statement.

The new partnership's project is to develop the region's premier "world-class logistics center to meet steadily rising demand," according to a statement by a partner of Bridge, Kevin Carroll.

Said to be delivered on a speculative basis, the cold storage project would be a 312,103 square-foot facility to be finished in the fourth quarter of 2021.

"South Florida has long served as an international gateway for imported perishables from South and Central America," detailed Niven.

So, the property's location just south of the Miami-Dade and Broward County line offers access to Florida's major transportation lines.

This acquisition is a part of a larger investment program for the joint venture which launched a US$150m nation-wide cold-storage initiative last year. The program specifically seeks to "value add returns through the development of Class-A cold-storage facilities", according to the release.