Parts Town Unlimited has leased 538,400 square feet at Jackson 85 North Business Park in Pendergrass, Georgia, anchoring the first phase of a 215-acre industrial development roughly 100 miles northeast of Downtown Atlanta. The full-building take makes Building 1 the company's largest global fulfillment center outside its hubs in Chicago, Phoenix and Munich, according to a press release. Parts Town CEO Bill Geary said placing "greater depth and breadth of mission-critical OEM parts closer to customers across the Southeast" would reduce transit times and costs. The developer—Trammell Crow Co. And CBRE Investment Management—still controls a second 1 million SF speculative warehouse on the same site.
Why it matters
Jackson 85 North sits along the I-85 industrial corridor that has pulled enormous capital into Northeast Georgia over the past decade. Parts Town, which sells OEM replacement parts for food service, appliances and HVAC equipment, chose Pendergrass specifically because it can reach more than 90% of the U.S. Within two days from a lower-cost, ex-urban base. That is a direct trade-off: cheap land and long loading bays instead of expensive infill proximity. The developer pair understands this. Building 1 as an anchor derisks Building 2, and the landlord lineup signals a master-planned park rather than a one-off spec play.
Who should care
| Stakeholder | What this deal means |
|---|---|
| Industrial landlords in Jackson/Hall counties | Faces direct competition from a newer, anchored Class-A box; pre-lease momentum may slow |
| Trammell Crow / CBRE | Wins twice—full-building lease on a new box plus a built-in comp for Building 2 |
| Parts Town | Cuts operating and freight costs; gains access to Georgia's labor pool at lower cost than Chicago/Phoenix |
| Speculative developers on I-85 | Competing against a de-risked park; face shorter window to lease up comparable product |
| OEM/distribution tenants scouting sites | More evidence that Southeast ex-urban markets outperform legacy Midwest hubs on total cost |
What to watch
Three signals will tell whether this deal is an anomaly or the start of a pattern. First, how quickly Building 2 at Jackson 85 leases—if at all. Second, wage and incentive data from Jackson and Banks counties, which signals what public money the next tenant can extract. Third, whether more mid-size parts and HVAC distributors follow Parts Town out of legacy Midwest hubs. If they do, Southeast industrial demand has a second wind. If not, Parts Town remains a single strong data point in a maturing corridor.
Key takeaways
- Parts Town's full-building 538,400 SF lease is the opening move at Jackson 85 North; a second 1M SF speculative box remains available.
- The deal reinforces the Southeast as the default migration path for parts distributors leaving higher-cost legacy markets.
- Master-planned parks with institutional backing are pulling demand away from one-off speculatives on the same corridors.
- Landlords in nearby submarkets face direct competition from a newer, anchored asset; pre-leasing momentum matters now.
- Track Building 2 lease-up pace, local wage data, and any peer distributor moves in the next two quarters.
Frequently asked questions
How big is the Parts Town lease?
538,400 square feet covering the entire Building 1 at Jackson 85 North Business Park in Pendergrass, Georgia.
Who developed the building?
Trammell Crow Co. And CBRE Investment Management, owners of the 215-acre Jackson 85 North site.
How many jobs will the facility create?
The release estimates more than 140 local jobs at the new Pendergrass hub.
Is there more space available at the park?
Yes. A second 1M SF speculative Class-A warehouse remains on the market as part of the first phase.
Why did Parts Town pick Pendergrass?
The location offers two-day ground shipping to more than 90% of the U.S. From a lower-cost, ex-urban site compared to the company's existing hubs in Chicago, Phoenix and Munich.
