Firm’s latest deal coincides with record monthly cargo volume at nearby Port of Savannah, fueling red-hot industrial market

Stonemont Financial Group, a private real estate investment firm specializing in industrial development and net lease assets, announced that it executed a 1,165,425-square-foot lease with Serena & Lily at the Georgia International Trade Center (GITC) in Effingham County, Georgia near Savannah. Serena & Lily, a California-based omni-channel retailer that designs and sells luxury home goods and furnishings, will occupy the entirety of Building 2C when construction is completed at the end of March 2022. 

The lease is one of the largest deals in Savannah’s burgeoning industrial market over the last 12 months and coincides with another record-setting month for cargo volume at the nearby Port of Savannah, with nearly half-a-million containers moving through the docks in January. The bustling port, now the nation’s fourth-largest, continues to serve as a magnet for retailers and manufacturers from across the country seeking to strengthen their logistics networks by concentrating activity in a region known for its low cost of doing business, deep labor pool and premier access to major rail lines and highways.

Stonemont has generated more than 6.9 million square feet of leasing activity since launching GITC in the fall of 2018, with the firm utilizing its extensive background and experience in the industrial development arena to attract a variety of distribution users, 3PL providers and other logistics firms to the park. Two additional buildings (3A and 3B) are fully pre-leased despite being under construction (2.7 million SF total), with the final building (4A, 773,200 SF) scheduled to deliver in early 2023. With the completion of building 4A, GITC will have maximized its total entitlement of 7.6 million square feet of development.

Stephen Ezelle  of Cushman & Wakefield represented Stonemont in the transaction. The tenant was represented by Brett Chambliss and Craig Hagglund from Lee & Associates.

“We’re thrilled that Serena & Lily has chosen Georgia International Trade Center for their distribution hub, which will bolster the company’s logistical capabilities while also creating valuable jobs for the local economy,” said Zack Markwell, managing principal and CEO at Stonemont Financial Group. “Stonemont’s ability to pioneer a large-scale industrial park near the port before the most recent development boom took off is a testament to the vision and strategic planning that has fueled our rapid growth in Savannah and across the country over the last few years. GITC will continue to be a top choice for leading e-commerce and 3PL providers for many years to come.”

Stonemont has invested more than $300 million at GITC to date and is developing the project in conjunction with Chesterfield and The Davis Companies. Omega Construction has served as general contractor for all the current buildings at GITC. Other notable tenants include Pacific Cycle, Shaw Industries, Lowe’s, Sunland Logistics Solutions and Dukal Corporation.

According to a new report from Colliers, Savannah’s industrial market added 3.4 million square feet of new space in Q4 2021 (4% of total market inventory), with nearly 17 million square feet of product presently under construction. Two-thirds of the construction pipeline is speculative development (11.1 million SF). Approximately 4.3 million square feet of spec construction is centered in Effingham County.

Stonemont’s ability to source and capitalize premium speculative development opportunities in markets with high barriers to entry have enabled the firm to grow its industrial portfolio exponentially over the last 24 months, with 12 million square feet of Class A product currently under construction. Headquartered in Atlanta, Stonemont recently opened new office locations in Charlotte, Chicago and Dallas.