Gwinnett County officials are expected to vote next week on borrowing the tens of millions of dollars necessary to buy a large chunk of the much-discussed OFS site, a Norcross-area property that has previously been pitched as everything from a casino to a movie campus.
The county plans to use its 104-acre share of the site, which is just off I-85 and Jimmy Carter Boulevard near Norcross, to try and lure in private investment and spur economic development. The property is also a potential site for a transit hub proposed for the general area, should Gwinnett voters choose to join MARTA during a March referendum.
Gwinnett and OFS, which manufactures fiber optics and remains active on part of the property, agreed to terms of the sale earlier this year. Gwinnett is still completing its due diligence, a spokesman said, but is expected to be ready to close on the sale in December as planned.
The purchase price was originally listed as $34 million.
On Tuesday afternoon, Gwinnett’s rarely used Urban Redevelopment Agency — which is comprised of all five members of the county’s Board of Commissioners — will hold a special called meeting to vote on authorizing the issuance of up to $36.5 million in bonds to cover the purchase.
Another vote, this time with commission members voting as the Board of Commissioners rather than the Urban Redevelopment Agency, is likely to follow at another meeting.
The potential OFS purchase is one of a handful of sizable — and speculative — real estate moves Gwinnett County has made the last year-plus.
The county acquired the old Stone Mountain Tennis Center, in a land swap before razing it. The plan is to present a blank slate to potential developers in hopes they can revitalize what officials have called Gwinnett's "southern gateway."
Gwinnett is also involved in a major undertaking at the Infinite Energy Center campus, where it has partnered with North American Properties in hopes of creating a development akin to Alpharetta's successful Avalon project.
The county also broke ground this week on a $60 million “water innovation center” campus, which it hopes will help spur economic development by luring companies from the water-related industry.
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