Jacoby drops bid to redevelop GM’s Doraville site

Jacoby Development, which started the Atlantic Station project in Midtown, has dropped out of contention to redevelop the General Motors property in Doraville.

That leaves three companies vying for the prize job.

“We have made a decision that we are not pursuing the GM Doraville project any longer,” Scott Condra, Jacoby’s senior vice president, said Friday.

Condra said the company was spread too thin right now, but that in the future it would be interested in redeveloping a second automaker site.

Jacoby recently bought the former Ford Motor plant property in Hapeville on Atlanta’s southside. “We’ve been approached by a couple of major tenants looking for office space [there],” Condra said.

The companies still hoping to redevelop the 165-acre GM site are New Broad Street Cos. of Orlando, the Sembler Co. of St. Petersburg, Fla., and Hines of Houston. The 61-year-old plant made its last minivan — a silver Pontiac Montana — last month.

GM said it will pick a developer before the end of the year.

Bordered by MARTA rail and I-285, the plant is a dream location for transit-oriented development. Buford Highway, lined with Latin and Asian businesses, and Ga. 400 are also nearby.

Jacoby made a name for itself by helping turn the former Atlantic Steel site on I-85 into a collection of homes, stores and offices. The 138-acre site is still being developed.