News
HOW GOES INDUSTRIAL?
July 21, 2011
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| Yesterday, we spoke with First Industrial's Kent Mason at the Atlanta Commercial Board of Realtors' Sandy Springs HQ where he was part of a panel discussing Atlanta's industrial market. Kent tells us First Industrial just inked a deal with Hill-Phoenix for 90k SF at 2050 East Park in Conyers (direct deal with Lee & Associates'Tommy Hiles representing First Industrial). Kent says he's seeing a lot of activity centered around the I-20 and South Fulton County corridors, even now bleeding into Henry County. | |
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| But that's about the only place where activity is in Atlanta. All the participants say activity is very focused on that area. Chris says a lot of activity is due to ?Fortune 250 [companies] that are consolidating into Atlanta.? Above, the entire cast from yesterday's industrial panel: Duke Realty's Chris Brown; IDI's Lisa Ward; Colliers International's Price Weaver; Kent; and CB Richard Ellis' SVP of asset management Pat Murphy (who moderated). | |
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| Atlanta is lagging in leasing activity behind other top industrial markets, and that may mean very little spec development. Many of the panelists say they're working on build-to-suit or spec developments in other cities, including the Inland Empire in California, Pennsylvania, Texas, and even Toronto. Price (seen here conspiring with Lisa Ward) tells the audience that there are few submarkets in Atlanta that could even warrant spec. ?I don't see anybody going vertical in Atlanta given the last cycle … until 2012,? he says. But a self-confessed optimist, Chris says spec in Atlanta may be sooner rather than later (like in the next year). ?I'm not sure it's warranted yet, but we're headed back to that direction.? |
