Filmmaker Tyler Perry has reached a deal to buy about 40 acres at Fort McPherson, the shuttered U.S. Army base, where he plans to develop an entertainment and shopping district.
Separately, megachurch pastor T. D. Jakes struck a deal to acquire about 95 of the remaining acres, where he wants to pursue his own development project in affordable and workforce housing. The Fort McPherson Implementing Local Redevelopment Authority approved the deals Thursday, according to a press release. All available property at the 488-acre former base, which closed in 2011, is now sold or under contract.
Financial details, such as the purchase price, were not disclosed for either transaction. The authority did not say when the sales are expected to close.
If his deal goes through, Perry will own about 368 acres there. The entertainment district will be open to the public and not connected to the adjoining Tyler Perry Studios, his namesake film production facility. It will include a “theatre district, retail, restaurants and plenty of employment opportunities,” according to a news release.
Jakes, who had been in talks since at least March about purchasing property, said in a news release he wants to develop “real estate and programs in response to the growing, nationwide need for affordable, attainable, and workforce housing.” He did not provide details.
Jakes is founder and pastor of The Potter’s House Church in Dallas, Texas. He has also produced movies in partnership with the Lifetime network.
Atlanta developer Stephen Macauley previously had an agreement to redevelop portions of the property, but he dropped out of the project in November 2019. The authority had tried to find a new developer since that time.
