ATLANTA — Porsche has announced plans to relocate its North American headquarters to the south side of Atlanta. While the company will not be moving very far — it is currently headquartered in the northern Atlanta suburb of Sandy Springs — the move has huge implications for the luxury automakers new neighborhood.
Porsche plans to relocate to the site of the former Ford assembly plant, located in Hapeville near Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport — not too far away from its existing Logistics Services Center. According to local reports, the company's new build-to-suit headquarters will include a 150,000-square-foot office tower as well as a 1.6-mile test track — a layout similar to the company's Silverstone facility in England. The reports go on to say the campus will include a classic Porsche restoration shop and a fine dining restaurant. Construction on the project will begin later this year and be complete by the summer 2013.
The new facility will kick off the development of Aerotropolis, locally based Jacoby Group's redevelopment of the former Ford plant, which shuttered in 2006. Jacoby purchased the 122-acre property in 2008 for $40.3 million and unveiled its plans for the sprawling development, which would contain 6.5 million square feet of office, retail, restaurant and hotel space as well as airport parking. However, the recession stalled out the project until now.
Talks had been swirling about Porsche relocating from its current headquarters since last year. The automaker currently leases two-and-half floors of Lakeside Commons, a 14-story office tower located at 980 Hammond Drive in Sandy Springs. Porsche moved into the building in 1998 following the relocation of its headquarters from Reno, Nev.
— Coleman Wood