Economic Development: January 2013
Kick Off: LakePoint Sporting Community & Town Center recently broke ground in Emerson. The 1,200-acre development will feature 16 major-league-sized baseball fields, 14 soccer/lacrosse fields, 16 fast-pitch softball and junior baseball fields, a 20-acre wakeboard park and a 100,000-square-foot indoor facility for sports such as gymnastics, wrestling and basketball. There will be five million square feet of mixed-use development. The project will generate an estimated 26,000 jobs when it opens in 2014.
New Jobs: XPO, a third-party provider of transportation logistics services, acquired Turbo, the freight brokerage division of Ozburn-Hessey Logistics, in October for $50 million. As part of the acquisition, the company anticipates growing by up to 250 new jobs at its Gainesville facility.
Cordele Plant: Stella-Jones Inc. is building a new wood treating plant in Cordele. The $11-million investment will bring more than 50 jobs to the area.
New HQ: British company Biodiesel King has selected Cumming as the site of its U.S. headquarters and distribution facility, adding an initial five jobs. The chemical equipment supplier also offers collection of waste cooking oil from restaurants and hotels.
Lawrenceville Expansion: Ricoh is expanding its thermal media coating facility in Gwinnett County, adding 58 new jobs.
Downtown Development: A new multi-use development by Chicago-based GEM Realty Capital is being planned for downtown Athens on an existing parking lot. The estimated $50-million investment will include apartments and retail space.
Tifton Renovation: Bell Plantation is consolidating its production, packaging and distribution operations in Tifton. The existing 109,000-square-foot facility will undergo a $15-million renovation, and the company plans to add 350 jobs.
Gulfstream Grows: Gulfstream is adding roughly 35 jobs at its Brunswick facility to keep up with an expanding workload.
HQ Relocation: Pharmaceutical company PureTek is relocating its headquarters from Cali-fornia to the Metro Atlanta area. The move represents up to a $15-million investment and will bring 200 new jobs.
Savannah Expansion: K Machine Industrial Services, LLC is expanding in Savannah. The industrial contractor is adding 20,000 square feet and 150 to 200 new employees.
Medical Billing: Medac is expanding in Augusta, adding 60 to 70 jobs. The company, which does billing for anesthesiology companies, was founded in Augusta in 1992 and operates in 31 states.
