Jacksonville developer to build huge industrial park near Port of Savannah

By Dave Williams  – Staff Writer, Atlanta Business Chronicle

A development team based in Atlanta and Jacksonville has announced plans to build a Class A industrial park within 10 miles of the Port of Savannah’s Garden City Terminal.

The 1,150-acre Georgia International Trade Center (GITC) in Effingham County, Ga., will include up to 7.2 million square feet of light industrial and manufacturing warehouse space, with the first two speculative buildings due to be completed next year.

The project is counting on continued explosive growth in import, export and e-commerce shipping activity through Savannah.

“Over the next 10 years, the Georgia Ports Authority will grow the Port of Savannah’s annual capacity to 8 million twenty-foot equivalent container units (TEUs),” authority Executive Director Griff Lynch said. “As more customers tap into Savannah’s efficiencies, there is clear demand for additional warehouse space at sites like the Georgia International Trade Center.”

The project is being built by Atlanta-based Stonemont Financial Group and Chesterfield of Jacksonville.

Proximity to the Garden City Terminal will provide the new industrial park direct access to the interstates 95 and 16 corridors as well as CSX rail. The campus will offer multiple built-to-suit options for tenants ranging from 155,000 square feet to 1.265 million square feet.

“We believe in the transformational potential of this project,” said Zack Markwell, founder and CEO of Stonemont. “The port has seen tremendous growth in recent years, but it needs more distribution and warehouse capacity to support customers’ increasing needs. GITC will … meet the needs of a variety of users and continue to bolster growth throughout the region.”

Groundbreaking will take place next month.