Jefferson Mill Business Park to Expand With Phase II

Bolstered by the success of the two-building Phase I at Jefferson Mill Business Park in the Northeast Atlanta submarket, a joint venture between Trammell Crow Co. and Clarion Partners is moving ahead with a 749,730-square-foot speculative industrial building in Phase II. 

Atlanta

The building, which is scheduled for completion in the second quarter of 2018, will be part of the 122-acre business park located off Interstate-85 in Northeast Atlanta, the largest industrial submarket in the metro. The new building will feature 36-foot clear heights, 60-foot dock bays and ample trailer storage. Jefferson Mill Business Park in Jackson County will have 1.8 million square feet of industrial space when at full build-out. 

“Due to the amount of absorption activity, strong economic fundamentals and successful leasing of our 822,000-square-foot building in Phase I, we are pleased to start Phase II,” said Mark Dishaw, principal with TCC’s Atlanta Business Unit, in a prepared statement. 

Amazon.com announced on June 1 that it was leasing space for a fulfillment center at the Jefferson Mill Business Park, where more than 1,000 full-time employees would pick, pack and ship large items like household furniture and sporting equipment. 

TCC and Clarion Partners teamed up in September 2015 to acquire the property for the two-phase Class A industrial development. The site is within one hour of Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport with quick access to I-85. The first phase consisted of the large bulk cross-dock warehouse that Amazon has leased and a 250,569-square -foot rear load distribution center.   

Ben Logue and Price Weaver of Colliers International in Atlanta are handling the leasing and marketing of the project. Branch Banking & Trust is providing construction financing. 

Atlanta Industrial Breaks Record

Cushman & Wakefield said the Amazon deal as the biggest lease transaction of the first quarter in its Marketbeat Atlanta Industrial Q1 2017 report. The firm noted the Atlanta industrial market had a “record-breaking first quarter with a significant amount of overall net absorption, a falling vacancy rate and an increase in overall asking rents.” The 6.4 million square feet of positive net absorption surpassed the previous record of 6.1 million square feet set in 4Q 2014.  

Powered by the Amazon lease, the Northeast submarket lead all submarkets with 1.7 million square feet of leases signed in the first quarter of 2017, according to the report. The submarket’s overall vacancy rate was 9.0 percent, close to the 8.7 percent total for all the Atlanta submarkets.  

C&W said it expected vacancy levels in the metro Atlanta area to remain healthy this year, even with a large amount of new product expected due to the strong market fundamentals and increasing demand for big-box space in the region.