WestRock leaving Norcross office, moving 800 jobs to Sandy Springs

The WestRock headquarters in Norcross. (Credit: Karen Huppertz)

The WestRock headquarters in Norcross. (Credit: Karen Huppertz)

Paper and packaging giant WestRock plans to abandon its longtime Norcross office and move about 800 employees to a transit-centric location near Sandy Springs, the company announced Thursday .

“This office will provide additional space for growth for our team and will enable us to enhance collaboration by co-locating key functions,” WestRock CEO Steve Vorhees said in a news release. “Access to MARTA and key transportation hubs will also benefit our employees in the region.”

WestRock Co. was formed in 2015 when longtime Gwinnett County company Rock-Tenn merged with Richmond, Virginia-based MeadWestvaco Corporation. Its pending relocation to Northpark Town Center — a tower complex near Ga. 400 and Abernathy Road that’s not far from the Sandy Springs MARTA station — would be just the latest local example of a major companies moving operations in order to have easier access to transit.

State Farm's new campus near Perimeter Mall ties directly into the Dunwoody MARTA station. Kaiser Permanente touted proximity to the rail system while announcing its expansion in Midtown Atlanta and Equifax announced last year its plans to expand nearby.

NCR, which, like WestRock, has its roots in Gwinnett, is also moving to Technology Square at Georgia Tech.

WestRock officials said senior leadership, corporate support functions and commercial teams will relocate to Northpark Town Center. The company plans to vacate its longtime home on Norcross’ Thrasher Street, but will maintain another office in the city, as well as locations in nearby Duluth and in Richmond, Virginia, officials said.

The move is planned to begin in “late fall” and should be complete by spring 2018, a WestRock spokesman said.