By Tony Wilbert
ATLANTA (Feb. 3, 2009) 2009 quickly is becoming a Twilight Zone year for commercial real estate, a year where nothing is as it seems.
Tonight’s episode centers on General Mills Inc.’s requirement for a 1.3 million-square-foot distribution center on the eastside of metro Atlanta. Industrial developers are drooling at the prospect of landing such a deal with the creditworthy maker of Cheerios, Haagen-Dazs ice cream, Pillsbury breads, Hamburger Helper and Betty Crocker foods.
The $45 million to $50 million project would be one of the largest industrial deals in Atlanta - and likely the Southeast - this year. But, don’t nominate the General Mills transaction for next year’s Atlanta Business Chronicle’s Best in Atlanta Real Estate just yet. (Photo above courtesy of Express-Times.)
In this weird year in these uncertain times, the tenant isn’t the only one that has to prove it’s financially stable enough to commit to a long-term deal. Potential developers also now must prove they have the fiscal wherewithal to make the deal.
From tenant to developer to lender, everyone’s a financial partner in real estate deals these days.
So, for developers that can pull off a 1.3 million-square-foot big-box industrial building (expandable to 1.5 million square feet), the chase for General Mills is on. The company’s search is being led by a broker from its hometown of Minneapolis, and General Mills is believed to have hired King Industrial Realty for local assistance.
General Mills, which has a plant outside Atlanta in Covington, is said to be focusing on the metro’s eastside and concentrating on Social Cirlce in Walton County. Social Circle's connectivity by rail to Covington and points beyond apparently is playing a key role in the company’s desire to locate there.
A new industrial operation would be a good thing for Social Circle, home to the famous Blue Willow Inn, where you can get a true Southern meal. I'd have to image the Georgia Department of Economic Development is all over this one and will do what it can to make it happen.
Nice scoop. Did a follow up here: http://oconeepolitics.blogspot.com/2009/02/rootin-for-newton.html
Posted by: Brian Brodrick | February 03, 2009 at 08:26 PM