NEW YORK, NY – MetLife Inc. is getting industrial.
The insurer is planning a series of new developments of warehouse and distribution space in eight projects around the U.S., totaling at least six million square feet.
MetLife announced the first last week: a development of up to three million square feet of space in the Atlanta area as part of a joint venture with Panattoni Development Co. The total cost of that project, which is set to be built in phases, is about $110 million. Joining with Panattoni, MetLife plans to build more warehouses in Chicago, the Inland Empire in California and Seattle.
Industrial space represents about 2% to 3% of MetLife’s real-estate investment portfolio, while the insurer is aiming to have it ultimately be closer to 10%, said Chuck Davis, who runs MetLife’s Atlanta real-estate office.
—Eliot Brown
