General Mills 1.5 Mil.SF Distribution Center

General Mills Breaks Ground on New 1.5 Million Square-Foot Metro Atlanta Distribution Center, Creates over 100 New Jobs

Sim F. Doughtie of King Industrial Realty, Inc. represented General Mills in the closing
June 10, 2009 08:03 AM Eastern Daylight Time

ATLANTA--(EON: Enhanced Online News)--On Monday, June 8, 2009, General Mills held a groundbreaking ceremony to celebrate the announcement of a proposed $42 million built-to-suit distribution facility that will create 112 new jobs in neighboring Walton County.

General Mills, the world’s sixth-largest food company and makers of products such as Cheerios, Betty Crocker products and Häagen-Dazs, was represented by Sim F. Doughtie, CCIM, SIOR, MCR and President of King Industrial Realty, Inc./CORFAC International of Atlanta, in partnership with William P. Nichols, SIOR and Jim Schnur, CCIM of Corporate Services Consortium, Inc.

The site selection process was an 18-month search that covered approximately 175 miles across more than two dozen counties. Doughtie, Nichols and Schnur also assisted General Mills in the selection process to identify the best partner for the construction of their new home in Social Circle. Ultimately, the Rockefeller Group won the development assignment.

“I am honored to have been included as part of a great team to represent General Mills in selecting their new site for their relocation to Georgia and in assisting them with the selection of the development team as well,” Doughtie said. “The Rockefeller Group will be a great developer, owner and manager for this project.”

The purchase of the 130-acre property was closed last Friday, June 5, 2009 in anticipation of constructing a new 1,508,765 square foot rail-served distribution facility that will be constructed to meet LEED certification standards.

“It is my understanding that this new built-to-suit facility will be one of the largest distribution centers ever built in the United States that meets the LEED certification standards for a Green building,” said Doughtie. “It is certainly the largest LEED certified distribution building ever built in the Atlanta market and in the Southeast.”

Jason McCart and Bill Randolph of King Industrial Realty, Inc./CORFAC International represented the Sellers of the 130-acre land parcel located on East Hightower Trail as the Listing Broker.

The City of Social Circle, Walton County, and the State of Georgia worked together to help make this new project a reality. With new construction down and unemployment numbers continuing to rise, General Mills has made a commitment to create new jobs and to make a significant investment in the state of Georgia.

About King Industrial Realty, Inc.
Founded in 1980, King Industrial Realty, Inc. is built upon superior local knowledge of the Atlanta industrial real estate market, broker professionalism and relationships. With its proprietary database, PinPointSM, King Industrial Realty tracks over 600 million square feet of industrial space. As a result, King is Atlanta’s #1 local industrial real estate expert with global reach. With the area's largest concentration of active industrial agents and collective experience, King Industrial Realty negotiated 5,471 leases and sales of more than 83.8 million square feet of warehouse, office, manufacturing, showroom, high tech, retail, and service center space since January 1995.

For more information on King Industrial Realty/CORFAC International, please contact Sim F. Doughtie at 404.942.2000 or visit http://www.kingrealty.net/.

King Industrial Realty, Inc. MEDIA CONTACT: Tammy Bush, 404-942-2037 tbush@kingindustrial.com