The Snapfinger/I-20 East industrial submarket is one of the tightest in Atlanta, with a vacancy rate of only 3.1 percent for all types of industrial product as of Q3 2017 – compared to 6.9 percent for the entire Atlanta market.
In addition to the extremely low vacancy levels – a clear indicator of strong demand – the submarket offers a strategic location for distributors.
These are two key reasons Ackerman & Co. decided to expand its Atlanta industrial portfolio with the acquisition of 801 Blacklawn Road, a 115,540-square-foot distribution facility in the Snapfinger/I-20 East submarket.
801 Blacklawn offers some of the best interstate access in the submarket, with two I-20 interchanges located only ½ and 1 ½ mile from the property.
The convenient location provides distributors connectivity to markets throughout the Southeast and to the fast-growing ports of Savannah and Charleston – located 234 and 292 miles away, respectively. Crucially, the property’s location just east of Atlanta enables distributors to avoid Atlanta’s most congested stretches of interstate to access the ports.
“This was an excellent opportunity to purchase well-located, shallow-bay space in a 44-million-square-foot Atlanta industrial submarket to provide additional high-quality space options for tenants, including distributors seeking last-mile service to consumers,” explained Kris Miller, President of Ackerman.
The shallow-bay design is a feature 801 Blacklawn shares with recent Ackerman acquisitions at Lavista Business Park in the Tucker/Stone Mountain submarket and Westgate Business Park in the I-20 West/Fulton industrial submarket.
Shallow-bay facilities (including 801 Blacklawn) typically offer multiple entries and flexible space options suitable to a wide range of users. Due to increasing demand for shallow-bay product and a lack of new supply, this property type is an attractive investment opportunity.
Ackerman Senior Vice President Frank Farrell is leading leasing efforts at the property, which has 19,660 square feet available, including 1,040 square feet of office space.