Next Industrial Mega Project? 19 MSF Proposed in Lamar County.

A Stockbridge-based land owner is proposing 19 million square feet (MSF) of industrial space off I-75 and High Falls Road in Lamar County. The project, entitled Legacy 75 Trade Center, has commercial and residential use as well. An update to this article is now available.

That’s according to a development of regional impact (DRI) application submitted on Wednesday, August 28. The project requires a rezoning by Lamar County before it can build.

Legacy 75 Trade Center

Lamar County staff submitted Wednesday, on behalf of land owner High Falls 75, LLC of Stockbridge, a DRI application for the Legacy 75 project. The property consists of 1,112 acres. It is located primarily on the west side of I-75 and north of High Falls Road. The large property can access I-75 from two exits, High Falls Road and Georgia 36.

According to the DRI application, the project is proposing the following: 19 MSF of industrial buildings, 56 acres commercial, and 75 acres with 900 residential units. The estimated build-out time is ten years, or by 2034. The development’s estimated value at build-out is $1.4 billion. This would generate an estimated $21.2 million in annual tax revenue.

There’s no timetable right now when the Lamar County commissioners may consider the project.

Land Acquisition

The Monroe County Reporter reported in May 2023 that High Falls 75, LLC bought property at High Falls Road. At the time, they paid $7.8 million for 1,143 acres. This included 679 acres in Lamar County and 464 acres in Monroe County. According to land records, the company assembled another 468 acres in Lamar County during the past year.

Legacy 75 Trade Center is an expansion of the previously submitted High Falls Industrial LLC. That DRI was submitted in July 2022. At the time, HFG Development, LLC was proposing three industrial buildings totaling 1.4 MSF of space. Their project was located along the north branch of High Falls Road, off Georgia 36. High Falls 75, LLC subsequently purchased the land in 2023 & 2024. That acreage is now being rolled into the larger development.

I-75 South, A Growing Industrial Corridor

The proposal for the Legacy 75 Trade Center is the latest call for more industrial space in the rapidly growing I-75 South corridor between Atlanta and Macon. Georgia 16, for example, in Butts and Spalding County has proposed developments totaling 30 MSF of industrial space. In addition, Butts County has received several requests along Georgia 36 since 2022.

One proposal in particular, Hillwood South, has led to organized opposition from local residents. The project proposes to construct three distribution centers next to High Falls Lake and High Falls State Park. The organized effort against it is being led by the High Falls Towaliga Watershed Alliance and the Save High Falls Lake Initiative. They are looking to purchase the property and preserve it.

One could compare the size of Legacy 75 to the largest project in the region, River Park. That is the 1,200-acre industrial park visible from I-75 at Georgia 16. It is building 20 MSF of industrial space. Twelve of the sixteen building sites have already sold, according to the developer’s website. The largest buildings within the development will measure 2.2 million square feet each. This amounts to fifty acres under one roof.

The Port of Savannah, and its continued expansion, is a key factor driving the industrial demand. The port shared earlier this year they have plans to grow from a 7 million TEU capacity port to 12 million TEUs in less than a decade. TEUs stand for twenty-foot equivalent unit, or each cargo container offloaded to and from ships.

Featured image shows dock doors on a distribution building. Real estate photo.