Owners of a Fairburn family farm have filed for rezoning, anticipating commercial development opportunities once the industrial real estate market recovers.
In a filing with the Georgia Department of Community Affairs, Mark Shugart of Saben LLC in Peachtree City asked to rezone land that's been part of his family, hence the name Shugart Farms Lake Park.
The filing, called a development of regional impact, describes 2.8 million square feet of industrial and distribution buildings with parking areas and truck courts, to be completed in 2014.
The South Fulton County site is on Bohannon Road off I-85 south of Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.
Consultant Bill Hare, who is working on the project, said details are scarce because there are no tenants and the project won’t move forward without an interested occupant. Rezoning is preparati0n for future demand, he said.
Tom Barber, a Fairburn city official, said larger industrial buildings in that area have remained occupied, but the economic downturn slowed development of new sites. He said the nearby interstate and airport, however, will spur industrial development if the economy improves.
Metro Atlanta’s Southside had several large deals in the last year, including new facilities for Clorox and Kraft, but the area’s overall vacancy rate remains high, same as metro Atlanta’s. At the end of last year, the metro region had the worst overall vacancy rate -- 14.5 percent -- among the top 10 industrial markets nationwide, according to real estate services firm CoStar Group.
Still, some firms are preparing for an eventual recovery. Last April, Atlanta real estate firm IDI sold 72 acres in Fairburn to USAA Real Estate Co. for $9.4 million. CoStar reported USAA plans to hold the industrial land for future development.
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