What's New

On May 22, 2015 Wolverine Worldwide (WWW) executed an 11 year lease with Orlando Corporation on a “spec” building in Mississauga, Ontario. The customized facility will house WWW’s Canadian warehousing, distribution, customer service and showroom operations.

The facility will be completed in the 4th quarter of 2015 and include approximately 30,000 feet of office space.

Effective February 1, 2015 Walker’s new address is as follows:

6300 Powers Ferry Road
Suite 600-350
Atlanta, GA 30339

Telephone: (404) 921-0104

The Walker Companies have been retained by Wolverine World Wide to locate a 325,000 square foot distribution center in Toronto, Canada.

Walker represented Continental Tire in the expansion and renewal of its lease in Gainesville, Georgia. Comprising approximately 615,000 square feet of distribution space; the facility was originally constructed after Walker completed site selection and development services for Continental in 2000.

Walker assisted Wolverine World Wide Inc. in the long-term lease of a 36,000 square foot office building in Richmond, Indiana. Once renovated, the facility will house the customer service and sales support functions of this NYSE footwear and apparel company. The project resulted in the retention or creation of 184 jobs and included economic incentives valued in excess of $7 million.

Walker assisted Macy’s in the multi-state site search and acquisition of a 72 acre parcel in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Macy’s will construct a 1.3 million square foot direct-to-consumer fulfillment center which at full capacity will employ approximately 1,300. Walker provided location analysis and labor assessment services, in addition to negotiating the property acquisition. The firm also negotiated a complete package of economic incentives that included permit fee waivers, extensive road improvements, and off-site infrastructure for utilities and storm water detention.

The Walker Companies represented Aldi Foods in the site selection, real estate and incentive negotiations for two industrial parcels that will house newly constructed food-grade distribution centers. The projects were in Houston, Texas and the Inland Empire region of Southern California. From each location Aldi is expanding its proprietary grocery concept with plans to open 60 to 125 retail stores, respectively. Details of each site acquisition are provided below:

• Rosenberg, Texas
  84 acres - 540,000 sq. ft. (cooler/freezer/dry goods distribution center)
• Moreno Valley, California
  52 acres - 835,000 sq. ft. (cooler/freezer/dry goods distribution center)

Aldi, a privately-held German-based retailer, is one of the fastest growing grocery companies in the world. Aldi USA is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.

Walker represented Continental Tire in the renewal of its 750,000 square foot distribution center lease in Columbus, Ohio. Walker had previously represented Continental in the project’s location analysis, design and development, and incentive negotiations when the facility was first constructed in 2002.

Walker provided advisory and incentive negotiation services to Aldi in its acquisition of a site in Royal Palm Beach, Florida. Aldi will build a 645,000 square foot food-grade distribution center to support its expansion into the South Florida market. The completed facility will employ over 100 people and represent a capital investment of over $50 million.

Walker exhibited at the Logistics Conference 2011 of the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) for the sixth consecutive year.

The Conference once again gave The Walker Companies the opportunity to demonstrate the firm’s proprietary site selection optimization model, WISER, which builds on network analyses to optimize labor costs, taxes, labor availability, labor union avoidance, and other critical quantitative and qualitative site selection objectives.

The conference brought together representatives of all major retail and consumer product segments, along with relevant solutions providers. Top supply chain executives from the largest, fastest growing and most innovative retailers attend RILA's Logistics Conference.

Martinsburg, WV - The Walker Companies represented Macy's, Inc. in the site search and incentive negotiations for a 1.3 million SF                e-commerce fulfillment center on 95 acres.  Walker also performed operating and labor cost analyses in support of this project.

Gainesville, GA - The Walker Companies represented Continental General Tire in its lease renewal of a 500,000 SF distribution center on 53 acres.

Phenix City, AL - The Walker Companies represented Michelin North America in its lease renewal of a 36,000 SF service center.  The lease renewal commenced July 2010 and expires June 2020.

The Walker Companies have also represented the following clients...  

• EFACEC Group of Portgual in its site selection of Effingham County, GA for its 450,000 square foot manufacturing facility.
• North American Pipe Corporation for site selection and development of a 200,000 square foot manufacturing facility to be located in Yucca, AZ.
• Macy's, Inc. in the acquistion of an 850,000 square foot distribution in Minooka, IL.

The Walker Companies recently joined the 15,000+-member U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), a non-profit organization composed of leaders working to promote sustainability in building design and construction. USGBC is best known for the development of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system and the LEED Professional Accreditation program, administered through the Green Building Certification Institute.  Gabe Callol, P.E., Vice President of Development Services at Walker, is currently working toward a LEED Accredited Professional (AP) designation.  To learn more about the USGBC, click here.

Kevin Hourican, SVP of Direct to Consumer Logistics for Macy’s, Inc., showcased how their new Goodyear, AZ distribution center solved one of the retail giant’s supply chain challenges. Walker advised Macy’s on site selection, incentive and real estate negotiations and project management for the 600,000 SF fulfillment center, which Hourican cited as the top performer in Macy’s six facility DC network. Hourican attributed much of the success of the Arizona facility, which opened in June 2008, to Walker’s comprehensive operating cost analysis, labor assessment and project coordination.  Click here to view Macy's presentation.

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Walker Featured in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution - 02/01/09

The Walker Companies’ were one of three Atlanta businesses whose proactive marketing strategies in a difficult economy were featured in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution article—“Smart Companies Stay Busy.” To read how Walker implemented its business development plan, click here .

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Walker Represents AutoZone - 07/03/08

Hazleton, PA - AutoZone, the nation's largest auto parts retailer, constructed a 600,000 sq. ft. distribution center in Pennsylvania. AutoZone was represented by Walker, who advised the company on site selection and development of the facility. The building is located on 60 acres in the Humboldt Industrial Park North, Hazleton (Luzerne County), PA. When fully operational, the distribution center will employ approximately 400 employees and distribute parts and products to AutoZone stores in the Northeast.

Walker assisted AutoZone with location analysis, operating cost studies, incentive negotiations, real estate acquisition, and construction management.

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Walker Represents Macy's, Inc. - 10/30/07
with two separate distribution center transactions

Goodyear, AZ - The Walker Companies represented Macy's in its selection of Goodyear, AZ for its newest fulfillment center. This direct-to-consumer distribution facility, serving the western U.S., will be 603,000 SF with an investment of almost $100 million. Phase I of the new operation will employ approximately 500 full-time associates. The Arizona distribution center is designed to accommodate a future expansion of 400,000 SF.

Walker assisted Macy's with location analysis, operating cost studies, incentive negotiations, real estate acquisition (36 acres) and preconstruction planning. Construction for the Goodyear, AZ facility (located in the western suburb of Phoenix) will begin in spring 2007 and is scheduled for completion in spring 2008.

Minooka, IL - Raymond Walker, SIOR and Daniel Wald of The Walker Companies represented Macy’s Retail Holdings, Inc. in the acquisition of an 850,000 square foot distribution center in Minooka, IL. The facility, which is located in Minooka Ridge Business Park (approximately 50 miles southwest of Chicago), was purchased from Opus North Corporation. The Walker Companies were assisted in the transaction by Trevor Ragsdale of the Chicago office of The Staubach Company.

The facility, initially employing an estimated 210 full- and part-time associates, is scheduled to open in early spring 2008. It will be operated by the Macy's Logistics and Operations division. As the new facility is phased in, Macy's will phase out operations at an existing multi-story distribution center in downtown Chicago, built beginning in the 1930s.

Macy's, Inc., with corporate offices in Cincinnati and New York, is one of the nation's premier retailers, with fiscal 2006 sales of $27 billion. The company operates more than 850 department stores in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico under the names of Macy's and Bloomingdale's. Prior to June 1, 2007, Macy's, Inc. was known as Federated Department Stores, Inc.