Category: Industrial

As the old saying goes, “location, location, location” is all-important in commercial real estate.

Ben Campbell, who has been named Ackerman & Co.’s Broker of the Month for August (based on total transaction value), focuses on land sales in sought-after intown Atlanta districts such as Decatur, Avondale Estate and Old Fourth Ward.

One of the properties he was selected to market back in 2015 definitely had a strong location going for it. The property – containing a 37,750 square foot warehouse building and an additional 3.1 acres of land for sale – was located at 2969 East Ponce de Leon Avenue directly across from the busy DeKalb Farmers Market. That section of road had a high traffic count of 26,000 vehicles per day, a number that was likely to increase significantly with the planned expansion of the market that would triple its size.

Clearly, this was a prime opportunity for re-development.

The property became more challenging to market, however, with proposed modifications to the lane configuration on Ponce that would benefit DeKalb Farmers Market while eliminating direct access to the 2969 Ponce de Leon property.

However, Ben displayed useful traits of successful brokers – tenacity and determination – and closed the sale of the property for $2.2 million two-and-a-half years after he was selected by owner Custom Slip Cover & Upholstery. During that time, he came very close to reaching deals with two buyers who ultimately backed out due to concerns over the property’s access.

In August, his persistence paid off when he closed the property’s sale with a buyer (Oakhurst Realty Partners) who saw the potential of the strategic location inside the I-285 perimeter and plans to revitalize the property for future lease or sale.

The sale of 2969 Ponce de Leon earned Ben the Broker of the Month recognition. Ben said it was a great experience getting to know the two owners of the business and partnering with them to provide a solution that will contribute to their long-term success.

“It was a pleasure to work with the owners of that property, Chean Chea and Miguel Moreno. They’re dedicated to their field of work and the community, and this transaction will enable them to relocate to new space that’s ideal for their business,” Ben said.

In addition to the Ponce de Leon sale, Ben closed another large transaction earlier this year: the sale of a 3.2-acre parcel in the city of Avondale Estates to South City Partners that will be the site of a major mixed-use project.

Ben is currently working on numerous land listings in his core intown markets and others in metro Atlanta. Contact him at 770-913-3931 if you’re interested in any of these opportunities or would like him to market one of your properties for sale.

Did you know that 51% of all restaurants in metro Atlanta’s Gwinnett County are international? The county is a culinary hotspot for foodies seeking everything from Korean barbeque to Indian street food.

The qualities that have produced this vibrant food scene – ethnic diversity, strong population growth, a pro-business climate – also have contributed to Gwinnett County’s emergence as one of metro Atlanta’s most important business hubs.

As the chair of the Gwinnett Place Community Improvement District (CID) board of directors, Ackerman & Co.’s Leo Wiener has first-hand experience working on a variety of initiatives aimed at boosting Gwinnett’s ability to attract business. He’s been pleased to witness Gwinnett’s ongoing economic growth – in particular, the county’s success recruiting company headquarters.

Leo, who is President of Ackerman Retail, is featured in a GeorgiaTrend magazine article focused on this very subject. The steady flow of HQ relocations to Gwinnett County in recent years has certainly been impressive and the article notes that this trend shows no sign of abating.

One of the biggest HQ announcements in the past year was Boehringer Ingelheim’s decision to move its North American animal health pharmaceutical headquarters from St. Joseph, Mo., to Duluth.

“Having a multi-billion dollar international company such as Boehringer Ingelheim locate their U.S. headquarters in Gwinnett, and specifically within the Gwinnett Place CID, demonstrates that the area’s strategic location, its strong infrastructure and talent assets are clear benefits to business enterprises as they consider site selection,” Leo told the magazine.

AmerisourceBergen, Level 3 Communications, Crawford & Company, M&I Materials, Trenton Systems and Shuma Sports also have picked Gwinnett for HQ locations.

With major infrastructure improvements planned to accommodate additional economic development and mixed-use projects under way (including a redevelopment of Infinite Energy Center) that will enhance the county’s urban amenities, Gwinnett is clearly primed for more population growth and economic prosperity. As the GeorgiaTrend article summed up, these sorts of projects are “just the thing to attract employees needed to keep the jobs engine humming across this bigger-is-better county.”

Braselton Logistics Center, one of the largest distribution centers currently under construction in metro Atlanta, is getting closer to completion.

As we mentioned on Twitter and Facebook earlier this week, the Ackerman & Co. project has achieved a new milestone, with construction now nearly complete on the 980,000 SF warehouse portion of the building. Ackerman arranged a special lunch to mark the construction milestone and thank crews for their hard work.

Jim Eyre, the project manager overseeing the huge development for Ackerman, said construction workers enjoyed the Mexican lunch buffet that was set up for them in the Braselton warehouse space.

“Good food goes a long way to show appreciation,” Jim said. “It’s not often that they get a chance to sit down for a few minutes like that during the day.”

The Conlan Company is the GC for the project. Other contractors whose workers attended the lunch included Rogers Mechanical Contractors, Plateau Excavation and Crown Electric.

Construction has moved smoothly on the state-of-the-art facility, with only a few hiccups due to an unusually rainy stretch in the early summer.

“Fortunately, weather hasn’t been a big factor,” Jim said.

The majority of the construction work going forward will involve the customized build-out of tenant Uline’s two-story office space, which will be completed in time for the company’s scheduled 1Q 2018 move-in.

The 1,000,812 SF facility, featuring 40-foot clear heights, will serve as Uline’s Southeast U.S. logistics hub. The distributor of shipping, packaging and industrial supplies will consolidate two area distribution operations in Duluth and Buford into the facility, which also provides additional space for future growth.

The Port of Savannah is constantly breaking its own records. Just this past month, the port surpassed its July record for cargo handled, moving 336,000 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent container units) – a nearly 7 percent increase over the previous July.

With this ongoing surge of cargo volumes, the Port of Savannah has grown into the fourth-busiest port in the U.S. for containerized materials, trailing only the Port of Los Angeles, Port of Long Beach, and Port of New York & New Jersey.

This is not only good news for Savannah’s economy – it also benefits Atlanta’s industrial market. That’s because many of the goods imported into Savannah are later trucked to Atlanta, one of the nation’s key distribution hubs.

As one of the top-10 consumer markets In the U.S. and a strategically located distribution hub, Atlanta is a logical market for retailers seeking to establish regional distribution centers that pack and ship products to stores, businesses and other end-users. Many of those items arrive in the U.S. via the Port of Savannah.

The roster of companies that have set up bulk distribution centers in Atlanta is proof of the city’s logistical benefits. In addition to the large existing centers in metro Atlanta for Google, PetSmart and others, online retailing giant Amazon.com recently announced plans for a more than 850,000-square-foot fulfillment center in Jackson County northeast of Atlanta that will create 1,000 jobs.

Those projects are indicative of the growing demand for industrial space in Atlanta, which is also spurring construction activity. Gross absorption in the Atlanta industrial market totaled 13.9 million square feet in the second quarter, up from 10.6 million in gross absorption during the same quarter a year ago. The construction pipeline remains active, with 13.2 million square feet under construction as of the second quarter.

Major projects under way in the metro area include Lambert Farms Logistics Park (1.5 million square feet) and Dollar General Distribution Center (1.2 million square feet).

Kirk Rich, Ackerman & Co. President of Brokerage, Keener Miller (center) and Sim Doughtie

Keene Miller, Ackerman & Co. President of Brokerage and also President of The Atlanta Commercial Board of Realtors, spoke at the 59th Million Dollar Club Banquet, celebrating the best in commercial real estate. The Atlanta Commercial Board of REALTORS® is one of the largest commercial in the nation with more than 2,200 members. The 2017 Million Dollar Club produced over a record-setting $26+ billion in commercial real estate transactions, surpassing the previous record of just over $25 billion, set in 2016.

Ackerman congratulates all Million Dollar Club award winners, including our own, for their outstanding achievements. Each of the following Ackerman brokers has generated in excess of four and a half million dollars in commercial real estate sales and leasing activity last year.

Kevin Hermetz $20+ Million		Sean Patrick $20+ Million		Larry Jarema $10+ Million
Frank Farrell $4.5+ Million		Jimmy Stevens $4.5+ Million		Brett Buckner $4.5+ Million

Ackerman & Co. has announced the recent acquisition of a three-building industrial portfolio in the Westgate Business Park in Atlanta, Ga. The three buildings (5215, 5245 and 5260 Westgate Drive) were purchased in an off-market deal from Clarion Partners, LLC for $7.55 million.

The three well-located, front-load, shallow-bay industrial buildings total 274,791 square feet and are fully occupied. Ackerman & Co.’s in-house team will provide leasing and management services for the new acquisition. The deal was facilitated by Cushman and Wakefield’s Stewart Calhoun and Casey Masters. The all-equity transaction was sourced through a new partnership with a leading European private equity group.

“The I-20W/Fulton Industrial Submarket continues to be a top performer with low vacancy and steady quarter-over-quarter average rental rate growth,” said Kris Miller, President of Ackerman & Co. “We are very excited about this opportunity to purchase highly functional industrial properties in a key submarket,” he added.

F. Keene Miller, President of Brokerage with Ackerman & Co. was named President of the Atlanta Commercial Board of REALTORS (ACBR) for the 2017 term. Miller was sworn in during ACBR’s Annual Business Meeting and Awards Ceremony held at the InterContinental Hotel Buckhead on December 9th. The Atlanta Commercial Board of Realtors, an instrumental factor in the growth of organized real estate in the state of Georgia since 1910, is the largest commercial realtor association in the country with more than 2,500 members.

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“Service above self is his motto,” said John O’Neill, senior managing director at Cushman & Wakefield, when describing Miller from the podium during the ceremony. “Keene is a consensus builder who leans in to get the job done,” he added. Miller will be the association’s 42^nd president.

Miller who believes in “never letting the moment be bigger than him” is committed to the ACBR’s continued efforts to increase diversity, offering higher education classes and advocating for the commercial real estate industry while supporting the communities in which they do business.

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Ackerman & Co. is developing Braselton Logistics Center – a 1,000,315-square-foot bulk distribution center in Jackson County off of Broadway Avenue and BDC Parkway in Atlanta’s northeast industrial submarket, arguably the largest industrial tenant submarket in the Southeast.

The speculative bulk distribution center, slated to deliver in the first quarter of 2017, is well underway. Slab has been poured, walls are up and roofing has begun. The cross-dock building will feature 40-foot clear heights, ductilcrete floors, and heavy trailer and car parking.

Check out the live camera at: https://app.oxblue.com/open/ackerman/braselton

For more information, contact:

Brett Buckner | 770.913.3923  
bbuckner@ackermanco.net