Prologis Secures 172 KSF Industrial Lease in Metro Atlanta

November 18, 2024

A charitable organization will utilize the space to process Christmas gifts for children.

Exterior shot of the facility at 1347 Highway 92, Acworth, Ga. — The Acworth, Ga., facility is one of the eight warehouses that Samaritan’s Purse will utilize for Operation Christmas Child. Image courtesy of Lee & Associates.

Samaritan’s Purse has signed a lease to occupy the entire 172,000-square-foot warehouse at 1347 Highway 92 in Acworth, Ga. Prologis owns the facility, according to Cherokee County records. Lee & Associates negotiated on behalf of the tenant while the owner had in-house representation.

The nondenominational evangelical Christian organization plans to use the space as a processing center for Operation Christmas Child, a charitable effort involving the shipping of gifts to children worldwide. Including this new space, Samaritan’s Purse will use eight warehouses across the U.S. to process the gifts.

Prologis paid $24.6 million for the asset in 2023, acquiring it from Link Logistics, public records show. The 2016-completed building has 32-foot clear heights, 43 dock doors and two drive-in doors, as well as 149 auto parking spaces. It also includes 8,249 square feet of office.

Samaritan’s new warehouse is less than 1 mile from Georgia State Route 92 and Interstate 75, as well as roughly 30 miles northwest of downtown Atlanta and about 41 miles from the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

Lee & Associates Partner Brett Chambless, SIOR, represented Samaritan’s Purse. Prologis Senior Vice President Kent Mason led the negotiations on behalf of the owner.

Metro Atlanta industrial vacancy rate below historical average

Atlanta’s industrial vacancy rate grew 50 basis points quarter-over-quarter, to 7.4 percent in September, according to a report by Cushman & Wakefield. Despite the increase, the percentage was still under the 20-year historical average of 7.9 percent. New industrial leasing activity hit 7.3 million square feet in the third quarter, the highest it’s been since 2022’s fourth quarter.

As industrial deliveries softened—just 4.9 million square feet in the same period, the lowest since 2021’s second quarter—and the 10.1 million-square-foot pipeline registered in September tapered off, metro Atlanta’s vacancy rate is slated to stabilize in 2025, Cushman & Wakefield forecasted.

Last month, Souto Foods agreed to occupy 200,000 square feet at Foxfield and AEW Capital Management’s upcoming 2.2 million-square-foot master-planned industrial development in Lawrenceville, Ga.