Apr 25 2013
Jacoby Development Inc. will redevelop more than 100 acres at the intersection of Interstate 85 and Jimmy Carter Boulevard in Gwinnett County into a dynamic live, learn, work and play campus that will open a first phase early next year.
The redeveloper of complex projects such as Atlantic Station and Aerotropolis Atlanta will leverage existing buildings on the site to swiftly deliver 400,000 square feet of state-of-the-art media studios to the burgeoning movie production market in Georgia.
"The dozen sound stages that we build first will be full from the day they open," said Jacoby Development Chairman Jim Jacoby . "The campus will be complemented by an arts and media education center in partnership with a leading higher education institution – plus a mix of housing, retail, hotel, office and entertainment to complement and support it."
The redevelopment site is excess property at the OFS optical fiber manufacturing site in Norcross, formerly known as the Western Electric/AT&T/Lucent facility. Closing should take place by the end of this year. The site, fronting Jimmy Carter Boulevard and Interstate 85, boasts more available power than anywhere in the region beyond Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson International Airport. An existing 300,000 square foot building on the site is optimal for an education and innovation center. The site resides in an opportunity zone and is in the Gwinnett Village Tax Allocation District.
"The bones of this property are perfectly suited to a media-centric redevelopment," said California based architect Gary Bastien whose firm, Bastien and Associates, Inc. has designed movie and television studio projects for Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros., CBS Studio Center, Sony, Viacom and Chapman University's School of Film and Television. "Georgia film and television production success is recognized in Southern California. The facility that Jacoby is building will be designed to Hollywood standards and will fill quickly."
Films produced in Gwinnett County in the past decade include Identity Thief, Flight, Due Date, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. More than 200 digital media companies make their home in Gwinnett, as do more than 150 motion picture, video, and sounding recording businesses.
"The sale of OFS' excess land in Norcross will in no way disrupt our fiber production at the site or our high level of customer service," said Timothy Murray , CEO and Chairman of OFS. "This transaction will increase our flexibility to expand production and invest in new capabilities as our customers require."