Conor Commercial, WHI Form JV for Savannah Industrial Park

Conor Commercial Real Estate, a member of The McShane Cos., and WHI Real Estate Partners LP have formed a joint venture to develop Southeast Gateway, a Class A, 1.2 million-square-foot industrial park in Savannah, Ga. The first of two buildings is slated for completion in the second quarter of 2022.

JLL Capital Markets arranged the joint venture equity partnership on behalf of Conor Commercial. The JLL Capital Markets Investment Sales Advisory team that represented Conor Commercial was led by Senior Managing Director John Huguenard, Managing Directors Britton Burdette and Matt Wirth and Associate Jim Freeman.

Southeast Gateway in Savannah, Ga. Image courtesy of JLL

The park will comprise two industrial facilities: One 1-million-square-foot, cross-dock building with 40-foot clear height, and one 184,000-square-foot, single-load facility with a 32-foot clear height. The buildings will be constructed on 137 acres at 380 and 394 Fort Argyle Road, one mile from a four-way interchange on I-95 and six miles from the I-16/I-95 junction.

The location will provide trucks maximum distribution capability throughout the Southeast and the rest of the U.S. The Port of Savannah is 15 miles away and accessible by several routes, allowing trucks to make complete six to eight turns per day without dependence on a single roadway. The Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport is 13 miles from the site.

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Brian Quigley, Conor executive vice president, noted in a prepared statement that Savannah is the fastest growing major container port in the U.S., and the Georgia Ports Authority continues to invest heavily in the transportation infrastructure resulting in one of the lowest cost, highest capacity and most reliable port services in the nation. In addition, the rapid population growth in the Southeast and the robust rail and highway transportation network that serves the Midwest and East Coast markets prompted Conor Commercial to expand in the Savannah industrial market.

Burdette said in prepared remarks the explosive growth rate at the Port of Savannah shows no signs of stopping soon and has contributed to Savannah’s strong and rapidly growing industrial market. Developers and equity providers have taken note of the dynamic and are seeking to fund new industrial projects in the market like Southeast Gateway, he added.

The Georgia Port Authority’s expansion plan to double its TEU capacity by 2030 is well underway. Last year, the port acquired an additional 145 acres, adding 1 million TEU container capacity at the port, according to a Lee & Associates Q1 2021 market report. The expansion is spurring development but it is still one of the tightest industrial markets in the U.S.

Earlier Transactions

The joint venture partners have worked together in the past. In February, Conor Commercial and WHI Real Estate Partners sold Southeast Phoenix Distribution Center, a four-building, 474,000-square-foot distribution center in Phoenix’s Chandler submarket, to JLL Income Property Trust for $91 million in an all-cash transaction.

Meanwhile, in May, WHI Real Estate Partners announced the final closing of its WHI Real Estate Partners V LP fund with capital commitments totaling $385 million, exceeding its target by $60 million. Fund V is expected to invest in a range of industrial, residential, hotel, office and other properties throughout the U.S.