Mega-industrial project proposed south of Atlanta

A real estate developer has proposed to build a large industrial complex about 50 miles south of Atlanta, although the timeline proposed for development is unlikely to move the state’s industrial needle very much.

The plan calls for developing 18 million square feet of industrial space on 1,225 acres in Butts County, near Interstate 75. The project, called River Park, also contemplates 110 acres of commercial and 89 acres of residential space for up to 200 single-family homes, according to a letter of intent filed June 13 with Butts County Planning and Zoning. Falcon Design Consultants and LGS Industrial, both of Stockbridge, Ga., a suburb south of Atlanta, are involved in the project.

According to the filing, the project could take as long as 20 years to finish. David Egan, global head of industrial research for real estate services firm CBRE Inc. (NYSE:CBRE), said that given the two-decade time frame, that’s not a lot of supply expected to enter the fast-expanding metro Atlanta industrial market. Industrial property encompasses logistics and manufacturing operations.

According to real estate and logistics services firm JLL Inc. (NYSE:JLL), Atlanta’s industrial market has delivered 15 million to 20 million square feet and absorbed nearly million square feet in each of the last two years, a solid performance. Demand has leveled off in 2019 due largely to geopolitical concerns that have dampened risk-taking. Net absorption, a term for the difference between occupied and vacated space, declined in the first quarter of 2019 over the same period in 2018, JLL said.