Doraville GM plant closes

Metro Atlanta

Doraville GM plant closes

The GM plant in Doraville, which opened in 1947, has closed its doors. It will likely be redeveloped as a mixed-use project.

Workers at the General Motors Assembly Plant in Doraville leave after working their last shift, Friday, Sept. 26, 2008. The plant has employed thousands in the metro Atlanta area since 1947 but is likely to be redeveloped as a mixed-use project similar to Atlantic Station in Midtown.

The Doraville GM plant builds cars using the company's "U platform." This generally refers to "Crossover Sport Vans." The CSVs are: Buick Terraza, Chevrolet Uplander, Pontiac Montana SV6, and the Saturn Relay. All 4 minivans were built at GM's plant in Doraville but production is moving to Canada.

Workers clear their personal belongings out of the GM auto assembly plant in Doraville Friday. The last vehicle rolled off the line a day earlier.

An exterior shot of the General Motors assembly plant in Doraville. Doraville officials are optimistic about the second life of the 165-acre property near Spaghetti Junction and a MARTA rail station.

Catherine Martin, left, hugs Felecia Perry, right, in the parking lot at the General Motors Assembly Plant in Doraville after they worked their last shift, Friday, Sept. 26, 2008.

The United States Postal Service ordered 10,000 mail delivery vans from GM that were built in Doraville in 2007.

Robots are used for much of the work, including welding. Wages at the Doraville plant range from $18 to $30 an hour.

A worker inspects the underbody of a minivan at the GM plant in Doraville. The plant closes Friday.

Workers at the General Motors assembly plant in Doraville inspect automobiles on the line. The plant, which employs about 1,200 workers, makes the crossover sport vans Buick Terraza, Pontiac Montana SV6, Chevy Uplander and Saturn Relay. The plant will close Friday, Sept. 26, 2008, as part of a companywide downsizing by the automotive giant, sparked by sluggish sales and heated foreign competition.

Workers at the General Motors assembly plant in Doraville inspect finished automobiles coming off the assembly line. Some production is being shifted to Canada. The plant employs about 1,000, down from 3,100 a few years ago.

When the Doraville plant opened in 1947, gas cost about 15 cents a gallon. Now, foreign competition threatens the survival of U.S. car makers.

Four companies - News Broad Street Cos. of Orlando, Jacoby Development of Atlanta, the Sembler Co. of St. Petersburg, Fla., and Hines of Houston -- are vying for the opportunity to remake the Doraville site, a former dairy farm and residential area.

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Workers at the General Motors Assembly Plant in Doraville leave after working their last shift, Friday, Sept. 26, 2008. The plant has employed thousands in the metro Atlanta area since 1947 but is likely to be redeveloped as a mixed-use project similar to Atlantic Station in Midtown.

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