Jackson Progress-Argus

The Butts County Development Authority is considering a Letter of Intent (LOI) t from reputable industrial developer Panattoni to market it's 298-acre tract.

The 298-acre tract located off Highway 36 West was purchased in 2003 and spreads over three counties: Lamar, Spalding, and Butts, with the majority of the land - 186.10 acres - falling inside the Butts County line. The acreage includes the northern part of High Falls Lake where the Towaliga River feeds into the lake, and is partially bordered on the west by Short Road.

Authority Director Alan White said a partnership with Panattoni would give the developer exclusive rights to negotiate sale of the acreage.

"Panattoni is essentially a one-stop shop to pitching developments," said White. "They have an exceptionally strong marketing department, engineers and design experts -- and lots of contacts."

Panattoni recently brought a 1.2 million square-foot Whirlpool warehouse to Henry County.

"The Whirlpool situation is a classic example of what Panattoni does best, " said White. "Henry County had the land; they turned it over to Panattoni and then they brought in a buyer."

If the Authority accepts Panattoni's LOI, the developer will be able to sell the tract whole or piecemeal. Panattoni will pay the Authority for the land, and erect a building - or buildings - according to buyer's specifications. Potential buyers will then lease structures from the developer.

White said while the price per acre is $19,000, the figure is not static.

"Should the Authority and county go in and improve a road, that will increase the price per acre," said White. "Price will be flexible according to improvements made."

The Authority discussed the LOI's ramifications at its December 11 meeting.

"[Panattoni is the largest private industrial developer and largest developer period," said Authority Chairman Bart White. "They've brought more built-to-suit than any other developer in the past five years. We owe it to the taxpayers to not mess this up."

Alan White told the Board several brokers have tried to tie the acreage up.

"They're all looking for the big distribution center in the sky," said White. "We've had interest in the property for sure, but we've also talked about who may be just fishing."

An agreement with Panattoni could last up to five years.