Mercedes-Benz is negotiating to build its U.S. division headquarters on part of Sandy Springs’ largest undeveloped tract along Abernathy Road near Ga. 400, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has learned.
Mercedes and local government officials are in talks to take control of about 10 acres of the 70-acre-plus Glenridge Hall site in a complicated transaction. That property, long owned by the Mayson family and listed for sale last year, is currently under contract with homebuilding giant Ashton Woods, according to multiple people with knowledge of the situation.
The Development Authority of Fulton County will likely acquire about 10 acres from Ashton Woods after the completion of the homebuilder’s land purchase and convey the land to the auto company through a lease-purchase arrangement, two people with knowledge of the situation said.
A Mercedes-Benz USA spokeswoman did not immediately return messages seeking comment. In an interview Wednesday with the AJC, Mercedes-Benz USA President and CEO Stephen Cannon said the company was close to naming a site, but declined to reveal its preferred location.
Ashton Woods plans to build a neighborhood of high-end single-family homes, townhomes and condos with biking trails on the remaining land.
The Glenridge Hall site is one of several properties that Mercedes-Benz has scouted in the north Fulton County city, including an adjacent property at Abernathy Road and Ga. 400 controlled by developers Ackerman & Co., Cousins Properties and H.J. Russell & Co.
Mercedes also is said to be considering the Lakeside Office Park in Sandy Springs and property farther north on Ga. 400 in the Alpharetta area.
The Glenridge Hall site is said to be Mercedes-Benz’ first choice, though the other properties are not out of the running, one real estate professional said.
A site announcement is expected soon. The company is said to want to own its campus, and have a prominent location. Mercedes also prefers for the property, and whatever surrounds it, to be lower in density and more park-like, people in the real estate community have said.
Mayor Rusty Paul told the AJC late Wednesday he did not know where Mercedes will go, but he said the city has talked to the German automaker about being part of a low-density development on the Glenridge Hall property.
Initial discussions contemplated Mercedes being a small part of the project, he said.
Paul said the discussions involved a walkable district with bike paths and convenient transit connections, with the aim that some Mercedes employees could choose to live on-site.
Mercedes is said to want an office building with about 250,000 square feet of space and room for expansion. The company is being represented in its location search by international real estate services firm JLL (formerly Jones Lang LaSalle).
Mercedes-Benz is likely to relocate or create about 800 to 1,000 jobs in the region, Cannon said, and workers will begin moving into a yet-undetermined temporary facility this summer. Cannon said he hopes for an “iron-clad” agreement on a permanent property soon, with plans to open a new campus in 2017.
The value of state and local incentives to help facilitate the move is not yet known.
