CALHOUN, GA-A vacant two-building, 381,500-sf warehouse complex, on the market for about a year, is under new ownership today. Faus Group Inc., a nationally known laminate flooring manufacturer in neighboring Dalton, paid R.S. Fox LLP and Battlefield LLC of Calhoun $10 million, or $26.20 per sf, for the single-story and two-story structures.

Area brokers tell GlobeSt.com the $26.20-per-sf price is below current estimated replacement costs of about $45 per sf for a comparable asset. The 78-acre property is at 100 Marine Dr. in Calhoun, Gordon County, about 60 miles northwest of Downtown Atlanta. Outboard Marine Corp. of Waukegan, IL previously occupied the premises.

David R. Barber, an industrial broker in the Atlanta office of Binswanger, negotiated the deal for the seller. The buyer represented itself. Barber tells GlobeSt.com numerous prospects inspected the property but the Faus Group offer was the only firm deal.

The transaction took five months to complete, from contract signing to closing. The buildings were constructed in 1983 and 1986. The seller had owned the properties for about 2.5 years and were completely refurbished before being place on the market, Barber says.

The main two-story, 256,000-sf building has 10,250 sf of office space, six-inch concrete floors, ceiling heights to 39 feet clear, columns spaced at 40 feet, concrete walls, 35 8x10 dock-high doors with levelers and two 14x16 drive-in doors. The one-story, 96,000-sf warehouse building also has 1,100-sf of office space, six-inch concrete floors, ceiling heights to 24 feet clear, columns spaced at 40 feet, 11 8x10 dock-high doors with levelers, one 14x16 drive-in door and one 10x12 ground-level door.

Barber tells GlobeSt.com the Calhoun-Dalton submarket is "dominated by the carpet industry and related companies. There has been a recent surplus of space develop in North Georgia because of some consolidation into newly owned buildings by major users who have freed up leased buildings in the market." Barber says absorption has "strong in recent months and any large surpluses should be diminished through 2006."