‘Project Pioneer’ could bring 250 jobs to south Atlanta
State and Fulton County officials are trying to recruit a project that would replace surface parking near the Atlanta airport with a manufacturing facility.
The Georgia Department of Economic Development is trying to land Project Pioneer, an $18 million facility planned by an unnamed company that promises to retain 75 workers and create an additional 250 jobs. Little has been disclosed about the company or the facility, only that it is “a centralized receipt and processing facility,” according to a public document.
The Development Authority of Fulton County voted Thursday to preliminarily approve a nearly $750,000 tax break for the project. Samir Abdullahi, director of the county’s economic development arm, Select Fulton, called the project a “first-of-its-kind consolidation operations facility” that would replace underutilized city-owned land near Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
“ (The project site) is surrounded by lackluster or low-density or low return-on-investment properties,” Abdullahi told the DAFC board. “This is an opportunity to make sure this (site) doesn’t fall into that same path.”
A specific location was not disclosed. The city of Atlanta-owned site has been undeveloped for a long time and is surrounded currently by paved lots for airport parking, Abdullahi said.
The proposed 75,000 square-foot facility is being considered at other locations, according to a DAFC fact sheet. The company, which Abdullahi described as a brand-name firm with national reach, said it has “evaluated various factors and incentive programs offered by other prospective site locations in its search.”
“Winning this opportunity would allow us in Fulton County and this city to be kind of that national flag and marquee as they build this platform out nationally,” he told the board.
Project Pioneer is the latest in a series of confidential projects recently considered by DAFC, also known as Develop Fulton.
The board approved in October a nearly $870,000 tax break for a battery company’s research and development center in Midtown. The company was later revealed to be Duracell.
In July, DAFC gave preliminary approval to grant a $9.3 million tax break for “Project Sasquatch,” a large manufacturing expansion in south Fulton. That company still remains anonymous, but DAFC leaders said more will be disclosed about the project before a final vote.
About the Author
Zachary Hansen, a Georgia native, covers economic development and commercial real estate for the AJC. He's been with the newspaper since 2018 and enjoys diving into complex stories that affect people's lives.
