Issue link: http://savannah.uberflip.com/i/1444971
31 Additionally, in Savannah's Canal District, construction continues on schedule for the $165 million, 10,000 seat arena will be delivered in the first quarter of 2022. The arena is one component of the master plan for the Canal District, plans for which also include an apartment building, retail space, community marketplace and entrepreneurial center, roadway improvements, and recreational green space with multi-use pedestrian trails. To the south in Bryan County, at the new Exit 82 at Belfast Keller Road on Interstate 95, infrastructure development is continuing for Raydient Properties' 3,800 acre development. Approximately 3,400 residential units, along with 3 million square feet of commercial space and 15 million square feet of light industry space is planned for development. Real Estate: Logistics and Distribution The Savannah regional logistics (industrial and warehousing) market extended its multi-year trend of substantial growth in 2021. New inventory of about 8 million square feet was completed in 2021, bringing the regional total to 89.3 million square feet. Even so, continued growth in port activity and logistics resulted in an exceptionally low vacancy rate of 0.5%, down from 3.5% in 2020. This is well below the historical average of 5.6%, thus signaling continued strong demand, Accordingly, new investment in logistics facilities will continue strongly in 2022. 2022 is expected to be another very good. Approximately 10 million to 12 million square feet of new inventory is under construction with delivery expected in 2022. Nearly 45 million square feet have been added to the market in the previous five years. Recent trends are such that roughly 50% of new developments are pre-leased at the start of construction with the remaining space absorbed by the time construction of the facility is completed. The market continues to attract the attention of large nationwide developers as the current number one market in the country for industrial/distribution development. The region currently has ample land available and zoned for further logistics development, up to 130 million square feet. In Chatham County, for example, the Rockingham Farms development on Veteran's Parkway commenced and two buildings are under construction. The 1,035 acre project, a joint venture of the developer, SEDA, and the City of Savannah, will add 10 million square feet of warehousing over ten years and add up to 2,500 jobs. The regional Joint Development Authority (Bryan, Bulloch, Chatham, Effingham counties) development in Bryan County has 4 million square feet under construction with initial delivery expected in 2022. Chatham County, in mid-2021, had 525 businesses employing about 18,000 workers in the logistics sector, including state workers at GPA facilities. This is a 20% gain (+3,000 jobs) in one year. The county has about 74 million square feet of logistics facilities. The Savannah Economic Development Authority, based in Savannah, has actively worked to enhance the ecosystem for advanced logistics and distribution in the region. This includes development of logistics workforce development programs and the Savannah Logistics Technology Corridor, for example. The technology corridor is expected to grow into a globally recognized hub for the development of technology supporting the logistics industry. Effingham County continues to see an increase in logistics activity. In mid-2021, 60 logistics establishments employed 600 workers. This is up from 53 businesses and 500 workers in mid-2020. Total acreage available for industrial development in Effingham County is over 8,500 acres. Total available (constructed) square footage in the Highway 21 corridor submarket centered in Effingham County is 4.1 million square feet with an additional 3.7 million square feet currently under construction. Two announcements totaling over 1 million square feet and 100 new jobs highlight recent activity in Effingham County. One of these announcements, Dorel Sports, announced an expansion in 2021 which would add an assembly component to their distribution facility in Effingham County, and bring their total headcount to 150. There are also 4 pending announcements that are scheduled to announce in early 2022. These pending announcements are in the distribution sector that will bring an additional 200 jobs to the county.