Electric vehicle manufacturer Rivian has opened a service, maintenance and storage facility in Orlando, Florida, after signing a lease at the Shader Logistics Center, a last-mile industrial outdoor storage facility just over 4 miles from downtown.
The EV company, headquartered in Irvine, California, signed a 34,938-square-foot lease at 4000 Shader Road and now occupies the 6.4-acre property, according to a press release from CBRE, which brokered the deal on behalf of the landlord. The site is owned by Ultimate Realty and was redeveloped in a joint venture alongside Amstar when the prior tenant, UnitedHealth, which had used the property as a call center since 2004, moved out during the pandemic. The property comes with over 400 parking spaces that Rivian will use for vehicle storage.
“We see the Shader Logistics Center asset as a prime example of the opportunity set for underused, but viable, hybrid office space in the current macro environment, and how these types of properties can be repositioned to add value to and revitalize local communities on a long-term basis,” said Joe Sabbagh, founder of New York-based Ultimate Realty, in the press release.
Ultimate Realty acquired the property in 2022 for $8.5 million, according to local reports.
Rivian's new location opened on May 16, a representative for the company told CoStar News. The service and maintenance center employs 25 workers and serves as Rivian’s Orlando headquarters for vehicle maintenance and warehousing, CBRE said in the release. Also in Orlando, the EV company has a service and demonstration center at 1026 Jetstream Drive, 13 miles south of the new location.
Rivian has 10 offices across the globe listed on its website with U.S. locations in California, Arizona, Illinois and Michigan. The company has dozens of other locations for its showrooms, service centers and manufacturing operations, including retail spaces in Dallas, Nashville, Tennessee, and Austin, Texas, according to Rivian's website.
Similar to Tesla, the company sells to consumers directly online and uses its showrooms for demonstrations, service and storage instead of operating as a traditional dealership.
“Shader Logistics Center is a rare gem in Orlando's Northwest submarket. Credit goes to Ultimate Realty for its vision in repositioning this single-story, vacant office building into an industrial outdoor storage facility. Equipped with heavy power and an open workspace layout, Ultimate’s investment thesis has proved to be a natural fit for Rivian Automotive,” said David Murphy, a vice chairman at CBRE, in the release.
Founded in 2009 and led by R.J. Scaringe, Rivian produces EVs like the Rivian EDV as well as the R1T pickup truck and the R1S SUV at its manufacturing facility in Normal, Illinois. Construction on a second multibillion-dollar manufacturing plant in Georgia is expected to resume next year after being put on pause because of high costs.
The company reported $206 million in gross profit for the first quarter, a big improvement from the $527 million loss it posted for that metric during the quarter last year. To help increase sales and meet demand for more city-friendly vehicles as well as to reduce manufacturing costs, the company is planning to release smaller, more compact vehicles like the R2 mid-sized SUV and R3 crossover over the next few years.
Rivian’s new Orlando location is set within the Center of Commerce Industrial Park. The location is just over 4 miles from Interstate 4 and 2 miles from State Road 423, connecting it to the rest of Central Florida.
For the record
CBRE's Murphy and Monica Wonus represented the owner in the transaction. Rivian was represented by Danielle Beyer and David Perez of Cushman & Wakefield in the lease.