Distribution Center
Will Consolidate Brands 03.08 Atlanta Business Chronicle
After about a year of discussions, Newell Rubbermaid Inc.'s Eastern Regional Distribution Center will take up residence at Majestic Airport Center II (MAC II), a 600-acre business park in Union City.
Signed in December, the deal between Majestic Realty Co. and Atlanta-based Newell Rubbermaid involved 800,000 square feet four miles from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. The transaction, which completes the full occupancy of the park, is valued to be in excess of $20 million and includes an additional $15 million in personal property investment.
"The deal itself morphed and changed over a period of time as they were trying to figure out what brands to bring into the facility. It started off in the 300,000- to 500,000-square-foot range," said Carr Carothers, Majestic Realty's director of leasing and development. "What they were looking for was a state-of-the-art distribution center that offered the features that would be necessary for them to be in the facility long term."
Housed in the 1 million-square-foot Building No. 5, the new distribution center is part of Newell Rubbermaid's strategy to convert many of its single-brand distribution centers to multi-brand centers that are located more centrally. In its efforts to reduce its transportation and improve shipping efficiency, the company has reduced its number of distribution facilities from 96 to 80 and hopes to decrease it to about 50 over the next two years. The new facility in Union City will be highly automated with material sorting and handling devices and is expected to bring more than 300 jobs to the Union City/south Fulton County area.
"This building for them is going to be their marquee showcase for future distribution centers so this is something they focused on from a corporate standpoint very heavily," Carothers said. "This is why it is so important for them to make sure this facility is up and running very smoothly and that is why it is taking attention from their executives. It is going to be used as a platform for future rollouts."
Set to move in on June 15, Newell Rubbermaid is joining other national tenants at MAC II including Costco, Caterpillar Inc., Del Monte Corp., General Electric Co. and Kellogg's, among others.
