Construction of the facility at Westbury Park will begin within 30 days

Frito-Lay, a wholly owned subsidiary of PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP), has signed a long-term build-to-suit lease agreement for a new 35,000-square-foot distribution facility in Fort Myers, according to Bob Johnston, senior vice president with Grubb & Ellis | 1^st Commercial.

The project will be built at Westbury Park, an 84-acre master-planned commercial development on Veronica S. Shoemaker Boulevard. The new facility will serve as the Lee and Collier distribution hub for Frito-Lay’s chips and dips. Frito-Lay’s current distribution building is located on Metro Parkway.

Westbury Park Developments and Grubb & Ellis | 1^st Commercial will develop the building, which will feature racking and distribution equipment, 30-foot clear height and a 5,000-square-foot office.

Westbury Park Developments will own the completed building and has entered into a long-term triple-net lease on the property with Frito-Lay.

Construction of the new facility will begin within the next 30 days, with completion expected in February 2009. The development team includes design-build firm Taylor Pansing with Jeff Shinkman as project manager.