Duke Realty Signs 1 MSF Industrial Lease for Carter's Inc. Near ...

By Barbra Murray, Contributing Editor

The building at 625 Braselton Pkwy., a nearly 1.1 million-square-foot industrial facility within the master-planned Park 85 Braselton mixed-use business campus in Braselton Ga., has gone from fully vacant to 100 percent leased in one fell swoop. Property owner Duke Realty Corp. signed Carter?s, a provider of children?s apparel and products, to a long-term lease to occupy every single rentable square foot of the structure.

?The previous tenant moved out December 31, so it was a big deal for us to backfill the building that quickly,? Chris Brown, a senior vice president with Duke, told Commercial Property Executive. ?That was the great news for us, (and) three months later, we found the backfill.? It was great news for the metropolitan Atlanta industrial market, too, where the vacancy rate was 13.7 percent at the end of 2011, according to a report by commercial real estate services firm CBRE Group, which represented Carter?s in the 11.5-year lease agreement.

?Carter?s is growing, and that?s the reason they need this bigger property,? Brown noted. Carter?s has warehousing and distribution space in various industrial facilities in Georgia and just beyond the state?s borders, but the company will soon accommodate those needs under one roof at 625 Braselton, and take advantage of the extra elbowroom, including the approximately 53,400 square feet of office space, to kick off its new e-commerce operations.

Sited roughly 50 miles outside of Atlanta, Carter?s new home will allow the company to capitalize on a bevy of advantages that the metropolitan area offers industrial users. ?Atlanta has always been considered the capital of the Southeast,? he said. ?Folks who distribute throughout the Southeast can get there via the interstate system and they?re also close to the biggest population center in the area, the busiest airport in the world, and the Port of Savannah, which is the fastest growing port in the country.?

Carter?s is in it for the long haul. Its lease deal with Duke provides two five-year renewal options that, if exercised, would extend the manufacturer?s occupancy at 625 Braselton through September 2033. Carter will set up shop in the five-year-old facility this September.

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