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ATLANTA, GA, May 16, 2017 /CNW/ - John Hancock Real Estate and CRG are developing a 1 million square foot state-of-the-art industrial building in the Atlanta suburb of Locust Grove. The building will be available for occupancy in early 2018.

John Hancock Real Estate and CRG Developing Distribution Center Along I-75 in Atlanta (CNW Group/Manulife Financial Corporation)

"Atlanta's thriving business culture makes it a key component of our real estate acquisition and development strategy," said Kevin Adolphe, President & Chief Executive Officer of Manulife Real Estate. "The prime location of this new industrial development along with the expertise of our partner, CRG, will give tenants the ideal platform for success."

Real estate developer CRG, on behalf of John Hancock Real Estate, owner of the property, will create a multiple phase business park with the flexibility to meet large industrial needs. This is the first of a 311-acre development designed for over 4.5 million square feet of industrial buildings.

CRG Vice President and Southeast Partner Mike Demperio said: "We see significant opportunity in the I-75 corridor with close proximity to the Port of Savannah, Charleston, Jacksonville and all of Florida. Within the attractive Henry County industrial market, the site is located a half mile from the I-75 and Bill Garner Parkway interchange, just 30 miles south of Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport."

CRG Partner Larry Chapman added, "CRG has looked for superior sites throughout the Atlanta industrial market and Locust Grove delivers to today's modern industrial user on all counts. This is one more step that CRG is taking to enhance our industrial portfolio in the southeast market."

Once completed, the facility will feature 36' clear heights with 236 trailer spaces, 148 dock height doors and 386 parking spaces. With all concrete paving and LED lighting, this facility will provide best-in-class performance and efficiency. 

"I am excited about this project because of its proximity to I-75. The new road improvements provide the best access in Henry County," said Mike Spears, Vice President of Colliers International, who will manage leasing for the new premises. "This multi-phase project provides us with the ability to accommodate users who require multiple buildings."

CRG's parent company Clayco will serve as the design-builder, and its subsidiary Forum Studio is the architect on the project. For more information about the Locust Grove Distribution Center, visit the CRG website. 

For further information, please visit: www.locustgroveindustrial.com. 

About Manulife Real Estate and John Hancock Real Estate
Manulife Real Estate is the global real estate arm of Manulife, operating as John Hancock Real Estate in the U.S. and Manulife Real Estate in all other parts of the world. Manulife Real Estate has fully integrated in-house capabilities and 80 years of experience as an active investor, owner, developer and asset manager of commercial real estate. Diversified by both geography and asset type, the portfolio consists primarily of prime office and industrial properties, as well as select retail and multi-family residential properties, in key metropolitan centers throughout Canada, Asia and in the United States. In addition to equity real estate, Manulife Real Estate manages the space requirements and own use facilities for Manulife and John Hancock operations around the world. Manulife Real Estate also extends its real estate asset management expertise to institutional investors. As at March 31, 2017, the Manulife Real Estate portfolio totaled more than 62 million square feet with AUM market value of C$21.6 billion (US$15.2 billion). Additional information about Manulife Real Estate can be found at http://www.manuliferealestate.com/

About Manulife
Manulife Financial Corporation is a leading international financial services group that helps people achieve their dreams and aspirations by putting customers' needs first and providing the right advice and solutions. We operate as John Hancock in the United States and Manulife elsewhere. We provide financial advice, insurance, as well as wealth and asset management solutions for individuals, groups and institutions. At the end of 2016, we had approximately 35,000 employees, 70,000 agents, and thousands of distribution partners, serving more than 22 million customers. As of March 31, 2017, we had $1 trillion (US$754 billion) in assets under management and administration, and in the previous 12 months we made almost $26.3 billion in payments to our customers. Our principal operations are in Asia, Canada and the United States where we have served customers for more than 100 years. With our global headquarters in Toronto, Canada, we trade as 'MFC' on the Toronto, New York, and the Philippine stock exchanges and under '945' in Hong Kong.

About CRG 
CRG is a leading North American real estate developer headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri with offices in Chicago, Sacramento, Atlanta, Pittsburgh and Northern New Jersey. The CRG team has developed more than 5,000 acres of land and delivered over 160 million square feet of commercial, industrial, multi-family and institutional assets exceeding $9 billion in value. For more information visit www.realcrg.com. Follow CRG on Twitter @CRG_Real_Estate.

About Clayco
Clayco is a full-service, turnkey real estate development, master planning, architecture, engineering and construction firm that delivers clients around the world the highest quality solutions on time, on budget, and above and beyond expectations. With $1.691 billion in revenue for 2016, Clayco specializes in the "art and science of building," providing fast track, efficient solutions globally for commercial, institutional and residential related building projects. For more information visit www.claycorp.com.

SOURCE Manulife Financial Corporation

Copyright 2017 Canada NewsWire

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