Giant Industrial Development Planned for Outer Fringes of Atlanta

One of the largest industrial developments in the Southeast is planned for one of the smallest counties in Georgia. Located on 1,560 acres in Lamar County on the outer southern fringes of the Atlanta metropolitan area, the development will include 19 million SF of industrial buildings, over 500 acres of commercial space, and 900 housing units. Plus, a 350-acre rock quarry will be a part of the project.

When completed, investment by the developer and companies that locate there will be “at least $2 billion,” Tim Abney, a broker in the Atlanta office of KW Commercial told GlobeSt.com. Abney declined to name the developer but said it is a “local” one.

The planned complex, to be known as Legacy 75 Trade Center, will have two exits off I-75, a busy corridor that links the Georgia ports of Savannah and Brunswick with Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. It will follow the successful launch of River Park, another industrial site just one exit further north on I-75, which has a heavy e-commerce presence and where 12 of 16 sites have already been sold to users or developers, Abney said.

“Most developers plan for two or three buildings. Part of our success is we have been able to find these larger developments and engineer them. We do all the grading and put in the infrastructure so we sell pad-ready sites to users and developers. We have created a niche,” Abney commented. “We can move much quicker having a lot of that work done. We take 97% of the risk for the user and developer because most of the risk is in the land development side of it.”

The size of the sites, to be sold, varies from 350,000 SF up to two million SF. Abney said there will be a focus on larger sites because most tenants want 750,000 SF and up, but there will also be space for smaller ones. Additionally, interest comes from “build to suit” users. The facilities will provide for the use of advanced technology. “Warehousing and distribution and logistics are much more automated. It takes a lot of folks to program and run all that automation, and it is usually a very well-paying job,” he noted, adding that it requires a significant investment by users as well.

The plan sets aside 57 acres for 900 units of multifamily housing, primarily Class A garden-style apartments. The aim is to reduce commuter traffic on highways and local roads that the new jobs to be added will create.

In some areas of Georgia new industrial developments have resulted in protests and court cases from long-time residents angered by the additional traffic and impact on once-private neighborhoods. Abney said the Legacy 75 Trade Center project will take up less than one percent of Lamar County’s land area, allowing the county to retain its rural character. County officials estimate it could generate tax revenues that could nearly triple the 20,000-resident-strong county’s tax collections.

The project currently awaits approval for rezoning by the Lamar County Board of Commissioners, which Abney hopes will be completed by the end of the year. “We will have sites for sale by the summer of 2025,” he said.