The newest players are Georgia Realty and landowner James Chaffin. Both have submitted proposals to county planning and zoning officials for back-to-back, individually owned retail centers. Georgia Realty has contracted to buy 23.5 acres fronting Jonesboro Road, west of the 800,000-sf Henry Town Center and near the planned Crystal Lake Plantation golf community. Adjacent to that venture, Chaffin plans to build a strip center on 10.7 acres if county planning and zoning officials will approve both projects.

The newest ventures follow a slew of previously announced projects for Henry County. Among them are a 599,500-sf distribution center on a 32-acre site planned by ProLogis of Aurora, CO at Greenwood Industrial Parkway and GA 155 south. Miami-based Equity One plans to break ground this quarter on a 13.5-acre shopping center, anchored by a Publix supermarket on GA 20, west of McDonough, GA.

Wal-Mart is waiting for county approval on a second 235,000-sf, $12-million superstore on 34 acres off Interstate 75 near Eagle's Landing in Stockbridge, GA where there is an existing Wal-Mart store. Georgia Crown Distributing Co., a 65-year-old Columbus, GA-based family-founded and operated beverage bottling and distribution business, is moving to Henry County to be nearer to its top rival, Atlanta-based Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc. Crown is building a $12.5 million complex encompassing a 29,307-sf headquarters office building, a 414,534-sf distribution warehouse and a 21,684-sf maintenance facility. The site is in the Westridge Business Park, west of McDonough, GA and Interstate 75.