MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) announced today that it will develop a new
large-scale industrial distribution park on 183 acres near Atlanta with
Panattoni Development Company, a privately held, national developer
based in Newport Beach, California. The Lambert Farms Distribution
Center will offer up to 3 million square feet of quality distribution
space and may accommodate up to two 1.5 million square foot facilities.
MetLife will be the majority partner and Panattoni will be the managing
member.
Lambert Farms Distribution Center will be built on King Mill Road in
Henry County, 15 miles south of the Hartsfield-Jackson International
Airport and 25 miles from Atlanta. The Class “A” development will
feature LEED Certified buildings, clear heights of 36 feet and truck
court depths of up to 240 feet, which will attract a wide variety of
corporate tenants seeking quality distribution and warehouse space.
The construction of the park will take about three years and is expected
to create about 1,200 full-time construction jobs. The total development
costs will run about $110 million.
“The Lambert Farms development in the Atlanta area shows that MetLife is
further diversifying its real estate equity holdings by adding a high
quality industrial asset to our portfolio,” said Robert Merck, senior
managing director and global head of real estate for MetLife.
“Nationally, we think the long-term growth factors for industrial
markets in core cities are very positive, and we are excited to have an
experienced partner with national reach in Panattoni Development.”
Merck added that the two companies have plans for an initial portfolio
of eight state-of-the-art industrial facilities in four states totaling
nearly 6 million square feet on 356 acres. In addition to the Lambert
Farms project in Atlanta, the companies plan to build facilities in
Seattle, Chicago, the Inland Empire market of California and another
project in the Northeast Atlanta sub-market.
“MetLife and Panattoni intend to develop in other major industrial
markets throughout the United States as economic conditions permit,”
Merck said.
About MetLife
MetLife, Inc. (NYSE: MET), through its subsidiaries and affiliates
("MetLife"), is a leading global provider of insurance, annuities and
employee benefit programs. MetLife holds leading market positions in the
United States, Japan, Latin America, Asia, Europe and the Middle East.
For more information, visit www.metlife.com.
Copyright Business Wire 2014