Rockefeller Group says new Homestead park tenants near By Candice Ventra
   A half-year into an aggressive marketing campaign, managers of the Homestead Park of Commerce say they are close to luring two to five more tenants in the near future.
   New Jersey-based Rockefeller Group real estate development and property management company launched a marketing campaign in April to fill the 280-acre Homestead Park of Commerce, said Les Smith, senior vice president with Rockefeller.
   He said the park, which builds to suit, presently has two tenants: Silver Eagle Anheuser-Busch Distribution Co. and Contender Boat Yards.
   "I can't announce any names yet or dates because we haven't signed any leases," Mr. Smith said. "We are very busy meeting with lots of different brokers and clients."
   The marketing campaign, he said, includes direct mail orders to potential tenants and meetings with brokers and company site planners.
   The Homestead Park of Commerce is an official foreign trade zone — a feature Rockefeller employers highlight in their tenant search, he said. The designation allows businesses in the zone to have certain benefits, such as duty-free importing and exporting.
   "This is especially important when we appear in front of the industry groups that deal with international trade," Mr. Smith said.
   Homestead officials said the Vision Council — the economic development agency for Homestead, holds the license for the zone.
   Interested business and companies may buy or rent space at the park, said Charles LaPradd, City of Homestead spokesman. He said the city is also doing in-house marketing to complement the Rockefeller Group's campaign.
   Mr. LaPradd said the city aims to get businesses that specialize in manufacturing, distribution and call center services at the park. Officials there look to attract local businesses looking to expand or move as well as businesses in other states and countries.
   Businesses looking to expand, he said, should take note of the park, because Homestead is the future of Miami-Dade County.
   "This is where Miami-Dade County is growing to by virtue of the fact that there is nowhere else for them to go in the county," Mr. LaPradd said. "We are about one minute from the Florida Turnpike and 25 miles from downtown Miami — not as far away from downtown as people think."
   He said future tenants may like the idea that the Homestead Sports Complex and the Homestead-Miami Motor Speedway — which hosts the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing's Winston Cup — are near the park.
   The proximity of the complexes will hopefully bring more business into the area, he said.
Details: (973) 347-9100; City of Homestead, (305) 247-1801; Vision Council, (305) 247-7082.