The Kroger Co. will help kick-off a combined 2-million-square-foot distribution and warehouse project in Forest Park.
It’s part of an even larger proposed redevelopment of the former U.S. Army base Fort Gillem into a regional logistics campus.
Cincinnati-based Kroger (NYSE: KR), the nation’s largest supermarket chain, would occupy more than 1 million square feet, according to sources familiar with the plan. The announcement could come as early as tomorrow, Atlanta's WABE reported Monday.
ES3 LLC, a logistics company that has facilities in several states including Fairburn, Ga., will occupy more than 700,000 square feet, sources said.
In Pennsylvania, ES3 already operates the largest automated food warehouse in the world.
The 2-million square feet of new distribution and warehouse space at Fort Gillem will be one of the largest industrial projects in metro Atlanta in recent years. It also marks the first phase of a massive, long-term redevelopment of the army base that may eventually include not just industrial buildings but also apartments and retail.
The Forest Park/Fort Gillem Implementation Local Redevelopment Authority will shepherd the project. Atlanta’s Weeks Robinson Properties is part of the team serving as master developer for the 1,500-acre base.
Fort Gillem closed in 2011.
The base is part of loftier goals for Atlanta’s south side. The Atlanta Aerotropolis Alliance wants to leverage Hartsfield-Jackson’s resources to spur more economic development across the area. The aerotropolis will include both Fort Gillem and Fort McPherson, two bases that fell victim to the 2005 round of Pentagon base closings.
For much of this year, Fort Gillem has been talked about in real estate circles as a destination for Kroger. ES3 has managed to stay a bit more under the radar.
Together, the companies will take about 320 acres at Fort Gillem.
Last year, Kroger was considering a campus-like project, and it scouted several metro Atlanta properties on which it might develop. A 300-acre site at Fulton County Airport — Brown Field, just west of Atlanta, emerged as a contender.
That deal eventually fell through, but California developer Majestic Realty Co. plans to inject $150 million into a new industrial project at the airport. Majestic and Fulton County — owner of the airport — cemented the agreement March.
