ELLABELL – As the area along Interstate 16 around the Hyundai Metaplant continues to surge with development – land clearing, mass grading and paving – a new industrial park will join the activity.
Scannell Properties Inc., an Indiana-based real estate development and investment company, is moving forward in developing Ridgeway Logistics Park in Ellabell, GA, a 335-acre industrial park. The site, located across from HMGMA and adjacent to the new I16 interchange, under construction, will be completed in multiple phases, totaling nearly 4 million square feet upon completion. Daniel Madrigal, Scannell Properties’ director of development, said the site will cater to warehouse, distribution and logistics tenants, including potential manufacturers to support HMGMA.
Madrigal said the development has been in planning for approximately two years, with Scannell working closely with Bryan County staff and the Georgia Department of Transportation as plans for the surrounding transportation infrastructure have advanced. He said upon completion, the industrial park will be “one of the largest in the area.”
“Ridgeway Logistics will truly be one of the premiere industrial development sites in the southeast,” Madrigal said. “The project represents a very long-term economic investment in Bryan County and has the potential to generate jobs, tax revenue, and additional economic activity.”
Site activity will begin this summer with clearing woods, grubbing and other preparation.
The project coincides with extensive infrastructure improvements underway throughout the area. The new Interstate 16 interchange, part of transportation upgrades associated with Hyundai's multibillion-dollar manufacturing campus, is expected to be completed in 2027. Bryan County is also improving Jernigan Road, which will connect with the new interchange as part of a longer-term plan to extend Old Cuyler Road north to Georgia Highway 80.
“The area has been studied and processed for many years, including by our team as well as Bryan County and GDOT,” he said. “We're very fortunate in the sense that all of this new infrastructure is going on based on all the latest studies, the latest standards, the latest statistics and this area. In particular, why we chose this site is the fact that GDOT is putting in massive infrastructure here to be able to accommodate this exact type of use.”
The first phase of the site project will feature a 1.1 million-square-foot speculative industrial building designed to accommodate a variety of users. Planned features include a 40-foot clear height, four drive-in doors, 234 dock positions, 45 dock packages, parking for 338 trailers and 350 passenger vehicles.
Madrigal said there’s been strong preliminary interest from companies in locating at the site, which helped advance the project.
He said the site’s strategic location, the area's strong labor market, continued population growth and significant state investment made the spot attractive to Scannell Properties.
Ridgeway Logistics will be Scannell’s second major industrial park in the Savannah region. The company previously developed the 450-acre Rockingham Farms Logistics Park in Savannah, where several million square feet of industrial space have already been completed.
Scannell has been active in the Savannah market for more than 15 years and has developed more than 9 million square feet across approximately 10 projects in the region.
"We remain very confident in the long-term fundamentals of the Savannah region," Madrigal said. "The combination of Hyundai, the Port of Savannah, significant public infrastructure investment and continued population and economic growth continue to make this one of the premier industrial locations in the Southeast."
Ryan Purvis, CEO of the Development Authority of Bryan County, said he is still learning about the scale of the project.
“From a broad perspective, we support calculated, planned and sustainable growth that provides diverse opportunities for our communities while protecting our natural resources,” he wrote.