COVINGTON, Ga. – A new 188,225-square-foot spec building is coming to Covington and looking for a tenant thanks to a $12 million investment by Panattoni Development Company, out of Atlanta. 

“It will be just the shell, so the interior could be built out for any user’s need,” Kevin Casteel, development manager for Panattoni, said. 

Located at 12101 Harland Drive, the building will feature two drive-in doors with ramps, 99 parking spaces, depth of 250 feet and a clear height of 32 feet. 

“It could be anything from distribution to manufacturing to storage to assembly could go here,” Casteel said. 

David Bernd, vice president of economic development for Covington/Newton County, said the expected completion date is in the fourth quarter of this year.

“When Serra (Hall) and I started five years ago, we had 62 available buildings in the Class 1 category,” he said. “Today to get Class 1, we may have one, but we’re pretty much down to zero. 

“They’ve bought into what’s going on. They understand the market that has truly shifted around here and the absolute need for this type of building to go up.”

Bernd said it is the first new spec building he has assisted with recruiting in Newton County because of the high inventory that was previously available. 

"We're excited for our first spec building in Covington and hope that it is the first of many," Casteel said. 

For leasing information, contact Palmer Thomas, vice president of industrial real estate advisory for JLL, at 404-995-6471 or palmer.thomas@am.jll.com. 

"This is a whole new class of building," he said. "There's never been anything of this caliber, so this is a whole new era."