Dermody Properties broke ground on a 10-million-square-foot logistics campus in Port Wentworth — the biggest near-port industrial development in the Southeast.
Buildings A and B, totaling 1.28 million square feet, are on track to deliver in Q4 2026 and are actively being marketed for lease.
“Dermody’s Port Wentworth Commerce Center — 10 million square feet, $164 million in land alone, and two spec buildings delivering Q4 2026 — is the most consequential industrial land play in the Savannah market’s history.”
Why It Matters
- At 10 million square feet across 18 planned buildings, Port Wentworth Commerce Center will reshape the industrial supply landscape in the Savannah submarket for the next decade.
- Two speculative buildings totaling 1.28 million square feet are delivering Q4 2026 with no announced tenants yet — this is an active leasing opportunity for logistics, distribution, and manufacturing users in the PIER trade area.
- The site’s Foreign Trade Zone designation allows tenants to defer, reduce, or eliminate tariffs on imported goods, a direct competitive advantage for global supply chain operators.
- On-site CSX Class One rail service and proximity to I-95 (one mile) and the Port of Savannah (6.5 miles) make this the most infrastructure-complete logistics site on the Eastern Seaboard at this scale.
- Up to one gigawatt of power capacity positions the park for data center, advanced manufacturing, and high-energy logistics users — a tenant category that is actively seeking Southeast sites.
What Happened
In June 2025, Dermody Properties announced the launch of Port Wentworth Commerce Center, a master-planned logistics project located 6.5 miles from the Port of Savannah and one mile from I-95. Dermody paid $164 million for the land, according to CoStar, making it one of the largest industrial land transactions in Georgia history. The development is expected to be the largest near-port logistics development to begin construction in the Southeastern United States in 2025 and is designed to serve as the premier port-centric logistics park on the Eastern Seaboard.
The campus is planned for 10 million square feet across 18 buildings on a site that includes a 2.5-mile internal road system, utilities including water, sewer, power, gas, and fiber optics, on-site CSX Class One rail service, and adjacency to dual 230KV transmission lines. A Georgia Power-owned 115KV substation is located on-site, and the project has been identified as one of a small number of locations in Georgia with capacity to provide one gigawatt of power service. The site sits within a designated Foreign Trade Zone, giving tenants the ability to defer, reduce, or eliminate tariffs on imported goods.
In October 2025, the City of Port Wentworth and Dermody broke ground on a new intersection at GA Highway 21 to support traffic access to the Commerce Center. The intersection project is expected to be completed within six months of the October 2025 groundbreaking. Dermody has selected Bill Sparks and Preston Andrews of CBRE to handle leasing for the project. Two speculative buildings are currently under construction and on track to deliver in Q4 2026: Building A at 538,775 square feet and Building B at 740,375 square feet. Both buildings are being marketed for lease with no announced tenants as of this writing.
The Port of Savannah posted its second-busiest year on record in 2025, handling 5.7 million twenty-foot equivalent container units, a 2.6 percent increase over the prior year. That volume context is the demand engine behind Dermody’s bet: the port is growing, near-port land is scarce, and the Commerce Center is the only site in the region capable of accommodating multiple buildings of one million square feet or greater in proximity to the port.
Who’s Involved
- Dermody Properties — Developer; Reno, NV-based industrial real estate firm with 60+ years of experience; Southeast region led by Wes Hardy
- CBRE — Exclusive leasing broker; Bill Sparks and Preston Andrews handling leasing
- City of Port Wentworth — Municipal partner; co-broke ground on Highway 21 intersection project October 2025
- Georgia Power — Utility partner; owns 115KV substation on-site; identified site as capable of 1 GW power service
- CSX — Rail provider; Class One rail service on-site
- Georgia Ports Authority — Port of Savannah operator; demand driver for near-port logistics market
Timeline
- 06/18/2025 — Dermody announces Port Wentworth Commerce Center; $164M land purchase reported
- 06/23/2025 — CBRE named exclusive leasing broker; Bill Sparks and Preston Andrews assigned
- 10/16/2025 — City of Port Wentworth and Dermody break ground on new Highway 21 intersection
- Q4 2025 — Internal road system and utility infrastructure construction underway
- Q4 2026 — [Expected] Building A (538,775 SF) delivery
- Q4 2026 — [Expected] Building B (740,375 SF) delivery
- 2027 and beyond — [Expected] Additional phases; 18-building, 10 MSF buildout over multiple years
What to Watch Next
- First tenant announcement for Building A or Building B: a signed lease would confirm demand is meeting supply and set a market rent benchmark for the submarket.
- Highway 21 intersection completion: expected around Q2 2026 — a key access milestone before building delivery.
- Additional building announcements or groundbreakings: Dermody’s pace of spec construction will signal their read on absorption velocity in the Savannah industrial market.
- Competing industrial announcements in the Port Wentworth / Pooler submarket: any new entrants would indicate the depth of tenant demand in the corridor.
- Tariff and trade policy developments: the FTZ designation makes this campus particularly sensitive to changes in import/export tariff structures, which could accelerate or dampen tenant interest from global supply chain users.
The window to get ahead of this one is Q4 2026 — when 1.28 million square feet of new spec space hits the market. PIER Commercial is already working this corridor and watching the leasing activity closely.
- Are you a logistics, distribution, or manufacturing user evaluating near-port space in the Savannah market before these buildings are absorbed?
- Do you own industrial land or assets in Port Wentworth or the surrounding submarket and want to understand how this development changes your position?
Ryan T. Schneider | PIER Commercial Real Estate | piercommercial.com | 912.353.7707