November 18, 2022 – Savannah’s continued transformation into one of the most powerful commercial centers in the United States has taken a major step forward with the news that SJP Properties has broken ground on the first phase of construction of the Georgia International Commerce Center (GICC), a 6.5 million square foot, 12-building Class A industrial facility, with vertical construction of the first building for which it is partnering with Manulife Investment Management now underway. The GICC, which represents SJP’s largest land acquisition to date, is located on 809 acres of industrial land near the Port of Savannah, the nation’s most dynamic commercial hub and fastest growing container port, and is part of a joint venture with Chesterfield and Atalaya Capital Management.
Conceptual plans for the GICC site call for 12 buildings ranging in size from 250,000 to 1,300,000 square feet, each with cross-dock, front-load or rear-load configurations. The first building spans over one million square feet and is a Class A cross-dock facility with a 40-foot headroom. 228 dock doors; four access ramps; 273 trailer spaces; a 185-foot-deep truck bay; and parking spaces for around 190 employees. The building is scheduled to be handed over in July 2023 and is available for rent.
With direct access to public highways, the location is ideally located 4 km from Interstate 16 – the main route for transporting goods inland to Atlanta and further north and west – and only 22.1 miles from the Georgia Port Authority. The GICC is in close proximity to the recently announced Hyundai manufacturing facility, which will total over 16 million square feet and will include an EV assembly plant and an adjacent EV battery factory. The location is also conveniently located 18 miles from the Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport.
“As the Southeast experiences explosive population growth and e-commerce continues to accelerate, demand for state-of-the-art, large-scale distribution facilities has skyrocketed. We have spent the last four years studying the fundamentals of the industrial markets in the Southeast and both this asset class and geographic area were a logical extension point for our organization’s development expertise,” said Steve Pozycki, CEO of SJP Properties. “The Port of Savannah serves as a conduit for the world’s manufactured goods to reach more than 75 million consumers, yet the surrounding region lacks suitable locations to meet the needs of its end users. We are proud to be entering Savannah’s industrial sector and look forward to bringing the Georgia International Commerce Center to life alongside Chesterfield, one of the region’s leading industrial developers.”
“Chesterfield looks forward to continuing its industrial development in the Savannah region with its joint venture partners SJP Properties and Atalaya, both of whom have long been leaders in the real estate industry,” said Will Gardner, Chesterfield CEO. Gardner expressed confidence in the growth of Savannah’s industrial market as his company has completed over 6 million square feet of Grade A industrial space in Savannah in the last five years and approximately 4.5 million square feet of industrial space is currently under construction.
“The capitalization of the first GICC building amidst the current market environment validates Atalaya’s triple thesis of strength in sponsorship, market and sector selection,” said Young Kwon, Head of Real Estate at Atalaya Capital Management. “Hyundai’s entry just minutes from our location reinforces our belief from Day 1 that the Interstate 16 corridor represents the natural growth path for the nation’s third busiest port in the years to come. We are excited and honored to contribute to Bryan County’s continued growth alongside world-class partners in SJP, Chesterfield and now Manulife.”
Located at the crossroads of major global trade flows between Asia, Europe and North America, the Port of Savannah is often the first port of call for ocean freight services bringing imports from the Panama Canal to the East Coast and is typically the last port of call for shippers carrying goods export to Europe and Asia via the Suez Canal. The port is home to the country’s largest container facility and two modern deep-water terminals: the Garden City Terminal and the Ocean Terminal.
With direct access to Interstates 16 and 95, the Port of Savannah also has connections to cities like Atlanta, Memphis and Nashville, as well as major manufacturing centers in the Southeast and Midwest. The port’s Mason Mega Rail project is the largest intermodal rail facility for a port authority in North America, providing 38 trains per week handling import and export freight for rail services companies CSX and Norfolk Southern. The area is also home to Amazon’s newest 3.2 million square foot multi-story distribution facility.
Stephen Ezelle of Gilbert & Ezelle Inc., a regional subsidiary of Cushman & Wakefield Inc., is acting as the exclusive leasing agent for the Georgia International Commerce Centre. For more information, visit www.giccsavannah.com.
