Change may be coming in how Georgia leaders expect to grow business in the coming years. A state that has built its base of jobs and headquarters in part on companies lured from other states seems to be focusing more on organic expansion.
There’s no way to ignore the spoils that came in 2012 from bringing operations of big companies South, however. Think: Caterpillar, Baxter International and General Motors
CAT came first. In February the Illinois manufacturer confirmed it would build a $200 million heavy equipment plant and distribution center near Athens that would eventually employ 1,400. What’s more, CAT figured its suppliers would in time relocate 2,800 more jobs down South, many to Georgia. Ultimately, the facility will mean nearly 5,000 total jobs, economists said.
Baxter, an Illinois maker of vaccines and medical devices, said in April it would build a manufacturing plant in Stanton Springs, about an hour east of Atlanta where 1,500 employees could end up working when the $1 billion facility becomes fully operational in 2018.
Voters in July rejected a transportation sales tax proposal called T-SPLOST designed to alleviate traffic woes that have vexed business people worried about the impact on future development.
The 10-year, 1-percent sales tax would have funded various improvements, and business leaders supported the idea. About $6 billion in revenue would have paid for 157 projects in the 10-county metro area, with additional funding for smaller local projects. The business community warned that without the improvements it would be hard to attract employers to the region in the future.
One site selection consultant termed transportation Atlanta’s “Achilles heel,” and business leaders initially put a positive spin on the ballot box thumping. But a Metro Atlanta Chamber strategy unveiled last month emphasized internal growth, an indication, perhaps, that the area’s ongoing transportation issues won’t be any help in attracting jobs from outside the state.
It had to be music to the ears of Falcons owner Arthur Blank when the Georgia World Congress Center Authority began to sing from the same page this month to the tune of a $1 billion (give or take) play palace. A deal was roughed out under which the club would pay the bulk of the construction costs and keep most of the revenue from the new stadium, while the public would pick up a third of the building cost, funding it through an extension of the bed tax. Details have to be cobbled together that would allow state legislators to make it happen.
Opponents said Blank and his team didn’t need financial assistance, and that the Georgia Dome (which would be leveled) is hardly an antique at 20 years old. Too, there was concern that the economic development potential was overrated, and that the spinoff business from a new stadium wouldn’t be much more than that of the old one.
An updated Cape-style house that sits in a quiet, close-knit neighborhood within walking distance to downtown Westport represents the affordable housing options that exist within the borders of the largely affluent community.
The brown cedar-shingle house with white shutters at 6 Willowbrook Drive in the Coleytown section of Westport is ideal for families with young children because it is a safe place for them to play and ride bicycles.
Willowbrook is a cul-de-sac, and the road it feeds into is a one-way street. The current homeowner, who grew up there in the house her father built in 1960, said some families from other parts of Westport actually visit her neighborhood for Halloween because there is little traffic, and therefore it is a safe place to walk around.
This house packs a lot into a modest 1,872 square feet of living space. On the first floor, there are four rooms, including the master bedroom and a flexible room that can serve as an office or bedroom. Upstairs, there are two large rooms, as well as a kitchenette, which would lend this space to serve as an in-law suite.
The house is situated on a plot of land that is 0.15 of an acre in size. The house is set back from the road on a slight incline with slate stairs that lead from the street level to the front door. Inside, the foyer, right hallway and kitchen share the same terra cotta colored Mexican tile flooring with hand-painted tile inserts.
The same painted tiles comprise the backsplash in the kitchen, which could use some updating; however, it is certainly adequate and the owner said her mother managed to cook easily there for a family of six.
Also included in the kitchen is an L-shaped counter, a second counter area, GE ceramic cook top, a Kenmore wall-mounted oven, and a door that leads to the wood deck and the fenced-in backyard.
The living room has a yellow brick fireplace with a raised hearth topped with a slate slab. The living and dining rooms have crown molding.
There’s no way to ignore the spoils that came in 2012 from bringing operations of big companies South, however. Think: Caterpillar, Baxter International and General Motors
CAT came first. In February the Illinois manufacturer confirmed it would build a $200 million heavy equipment plant and distribution center near Athens that would eventually employ 1,400. What’s more, CAT figured its suppliers would in time relocate 2,800 more jobs down South, many to Georgia. Ultimately, the facility will mean nearly 5,000 total jobs, economists said.
Baxter, an Illinois maker of vaccines and medical devices, said in April it would build a manufacturing plant in Stanton Springs, about an hour east of Atlanta where 1,500 employees could end up working when the $1 billion facility becomes fully operational in 2018.
Voters in July rejected a transportation sales tax proposal called T-SPLOST designed to alleviate traffic woes that have vexed business people worried about the impact on future development.
The 10-year, 1-percent sales tax would have funded various improvements, and business leaders supported the idea. About $6 billion in revenue would have paid for 157 projects in the 10-county metro area, with additional funding for smaller local projects. The business community warned that without the improvements it would be hard to attract employers to the region in the future.
One site selection consultant termed transportation Atlanta’s “Achilles heel,” and business leaders initially put a positive spin on the ballot box thumping. But a Metro Atlanta Chamber strategy unveiled last month emphasized internal growth, an indication, perhaps, that the area’s ongoing transportation issues won’t be any help in attracting jobs from outside the state.
It had to be music to the ears of Falcons owner Arthur Blank when the Georgia World Congress Center Authority began to sing from the same page this month to the tune of a $1 billion (give or take) play palace. A deal was roughed out under which the club would pay the bulk of the construction costs and keep most of the revenue from the new stadium, while the public would pick up a third of the building cost, funding it through an extension of the bed tax. Details have to be cobbled together that would allow state legislators to make it happen.
Opponents said Blank and his team didn’t need financial assistance, and that the Georgia Dome (which would be leveled) is hardly an antique at 20 years old. Too, there was concern that the economic development potential was overrated, and that the spinoff business from a new stadium wouldn’t be much more than that of the old one.
An updated Cape-style house that sits in a quiet, close-knit neighborhood within walking distance to downtown Westport represents the affordable housing options that exist within the borders of the largely affluent community.
The brown cedar-shingle house with white shutters at 6 Willowbrook Drive in the Coleytown section of Westport is ideal for families with young children because it is a safe place for them to play and ride bicycles.
Willowbrook is a cul-de-sac, and the road it feeds into is a one-way street. The current homeowner, who grew up there in the house her father built in 1960, said some families from other parts of Westport actually visit her neighborhood for Halloween because there is little traffic, and therefore it is a safe place to walk around.
This house packs a lot into a modest 1,872 square feet of living space. On the first floor, there are four rooms, including the master bedroom and a flexible room that can serve as an office or bedroom. Upstairs, there are two large rooms, as well as a kitchenette, which would lend this space to serve as an in-law suite.
The house is situated on a plot of land that is 0.15 of an acre in size. The house is set back from the road on a slight incline with slate stairs that lead from the street level to the front door. Inside, the foyer, right hallway and kitchen share the same terra cotta colored Mexican tile flooring with hand-painted tile inserts.
The same painted tiles comprise the backsplash in the kitchen, which could use some updating; however, it is certainly adequate and the owner said her mother managed to cook easily there for a family of six.
Also included in the kitchen is an L-shaped counter, a second counter area, GE ceramic cook top, a Kenmore wall-mounted oven, and a door that leads to the wood deck and the fenced-in backyard.
The living room has a yellow brick fireplace with a raised hearth topped with a slate slab. The living and dining rooms have crown molding.