John Hancock, CRG Unveil 1 MSF Atlanta Logistics Project

By Keith Loria, Contributing Editor

CRG, on behalf of owner John Hancock Real Estate, is developing a 1-million-square-foot, state-of-the-art industrial building in the Atlanta suburb of Locust Grove.

Spec Warehouse 1 at Locust Grove

“We decided about a year and a half ago to really emphasize the industrial development portion of our company, so we’re now out doing speculative development as well as doing design-builds and making a real effort to get a solid position in all of the logistics major markets,” Larry Chapman, CRG Partner, told Commercial Property Executive. “We’re doing it in a very robust way, and you’re seeing it in Atlanta with the Locust Grove project.”

This is the first of a 311-acre development designed for more than 4.5 million square feet of industrial buildings and when finished, the multiple phase business park will offer the flexibility to meet large industrial needs. According to Chapman, there’s a lot of opportunity for development in the area and he expects another 4 or 5 buildings.

The industrial building will offer 36-foot clear heights with 236 trailer spaces, 148 dock height doors and 386 parking spaces. The facility’s entire surface parking will feature concrete paving and LED lighting, allowing for best-in-class performance and efficiency. 

“This is part of our major effort to take advantage of what we see in the marketplace as high demand and a new kind of larger building servicing the e-commerce industry,” Chapman said. “E-commerce is driving the way consumer goods are being shipped around the country and is demanding bigger individual facilities.”

The property is located within the Henry County industrial market, just a half mile from the I-75 and Bill Garner Parkway interchange, and only 30 miles south of Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.

“Atlanta is so powerfully located within major population centers and logistic corridors,” Chapman said. “CRG has looked for superior sites throughout the Atlanta industrial market and Locust Grove delivers to today’s modern industrial user on all counts.”

CRG’s parent company Clayco will serve as the design-builder, and its subsidiary Forum Studio is the architect on the project. The facility is expected to be complete in early 2018.

Similar projects are planned in Savannah, Ga., and CRG is looking at projects in places like Columbus, Ohio, Lehigh, Pa., and Portland, Ore.