Coca-Cola UNITED buys development site in southern Georgia
JLL brokered the $1.4M sale of the land site, which will house a to-be-built industrial facility
ATLANTA, November 7, 2019 – JLL announced today that it closed the $1.4 million sale of an 88.55-acre land site for a to-be-built industrial facility in the southern Georgia community of Tifton.
JLL marketed the assets on behalf of the seller, Independent Investors Inc. Coca-Cola Bottling Company United, Inc. (UNITED) purchased the asset and was represented by NAI Charter.
UNITED plans to build a 300,000-square-foot sales center and warehouse on the development site. The Birmingham, Alabama-based company will invest approximately $60 million in a state-of-the-art facility that will employ approximately 200 people and distribute roughly 4.5 million cases of non-alcoholic beverages to customers annually once the facility opens in late 2021. The new facility – which will include a sales and distribution center, warehouse and office space – will serve as a hub to distribute products and services to customers and other smaller Coca-Cola sales facilities throughout South Georgia and parts of the Florida Panhandle.
The land site is at 101 Lamb Loop Road along Interstate 75, the major transportation and distribution artery in the Southeast, exposing the property to 48,900 vehicles traveling through Tifton daily. The site is in the industrial corridor of Tifton, a community situated between several economic hubs that are home to some of the nation’s largest corporations; the community is 2.5 hours south of Atlanta and 3.5 hours north of Orlando. Additionally, the property is proximate to the GSF Railway, which runs from Macon, Georgia, to Lake City, Florida, with an alternate route to Jacksonville, Florida.
The JLL Capital Markets team representing the seller was led by Senior Director Jamie Smithson and Analyst Conor Welton. David DeVaney with NAI Charter represented the buyer in the transaction.
“It is an honor to facilitate a transaction that will prove to be an economic win for this region of the state for years to come,” Smithson said.
According to a recent JLL Industrial Outlook Report, In Q2 2019, the U.S. industrial market maintained the momentum seen in Q1 2019 and continues to be near all-time historic lows. Quarterly completions outpaced net absorption for another consecutive quarter; despite this, the vacancy rate remains stable at 5% due to strong preleasing rates.
JLL Capital Markets is a full-service global provider of capital solutions for real estate investors and occupiers. The firm's in-depth local market and global investor knowledge delivers the best-in-class solutions for clients — whether investment advisory, debt placement, equity placement or a recapitalization. The firm has more than 3,700 Capital Markets specialists worldwide with offices in nearly 50 countries.
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Deal secured by Holliday Fenoglio Fowler LP (“HFF”) prior to being acquired by JLL on July 1, 2019. Co-brokerage services provided by Jones Lang LaSalle Americas, Inc.
About JLL
JLL (NYSE: JLL) is a leading professional services firm that specializes in real estate and investment management. Our vision is to reimagine the world of real estate, creating rewarding opportunities and amazing spaces where people can achieve their ambitions. In doing so, we will build a better tomorrow for our clients, our people and our communities. JLL is a Fortune 500 company with annual revenue of $16.3 billion, operations in over 80 countries and a global workforce of more than 93,000 as of September 30, 2019. JLL is the brand name, and a registered trademark, of Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated. For further information, visit jll.com.
About Independent Investors Inc.
Independent Investors Inc. is a local investor ownership group with several long-term land holdings along the Interstate 75 growth corridor in Tifton, Georgia.
About Coca-Cola Bottling Company United, Inc.
Coca-Cola Bottling Company United, Inc., founded in 1902 and headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, is the second largest privately held Coca-Cola bottler in North America and the third largest bottler of Coca-Cola products in the U.S. Coca-Cola UNITED has approximately 10,000 associates located in more than 60 facilities across six southeastern states (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee). In 2017 and 2018, the company acquired 12 sales centers and two production facilities in Georgia, giving Coca-Cola UNITED the entire state as part of its bottling territory. Historically significant franchises within our Coca-Cola UNITED family include Chattanooga, the world’s first Coca-Cola bottler; Atlanta, home of the worldwide Coca-Cola System; and Columbus, Georgia, development site of the original Coca-Cola formula.
For more than 117 years, Coca-Cola UNITED has remained true to its foundational core values of: Quality, Excellence, Integrity and Respect. Local relationships, personalized customer service, and strong community engagement have been the foundation of its business for more than a century. Each year, millions of dollars are invested in the local communities, supporting education, community development and nonprofit organizations that empower and impact those in need.