Gwinnett County will soon be home to the largest movie studio in the Southeast.
The familiar site along I-85 and Jimmy Carter Boulevard was the previous location for a failed attempt at a video lottery casino.
Now Jacoby Development, which built Atlantic Station and Aerotropolis Atlanta, has contracted to build a 12-studio movie complex on 100 acres that fiber optic company OFS isn't using.
“The dozen sound stages that we build first will be full from the day they open,” says Jacoby Development Chairman Jim Jacoby in a released statement.
He says the campus will also include an arts and media education center that will partner with a leading higher education institution. It will also include a mix of housing, retail, hotel, office and entertainment to support it.
Joel Wascher, communications director for the Gwinnett Village Community Improvement District, expects the facility will bring high paying jobs and continued revitalization to the area.
He says besides its close proximity to Hartsfield Jackson Airport and other parts of the metro Atlanta area, it’s also the perfect location for a movie studio.
“It’s within a 30-mile radius of the Georgia mountains, Lake Lanier, the city of Atlanta, so it offers a lot of different opportunities and venues for filming,” he says.
The contract is expected to close by the end of the year with the first phase of the project expected to open early next year.
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