Georgia Governor Brian P. Kemp announced on Wednesday the purchase of a 1,100-acre economic development site that will be the location of the “Middle Georgia Megasite.”
“Even after announcing the two largest projects in the State’s history back-to-back, we remain focused on attracting key industries and investment by providing the project sites companies need,” said Governor Brian Kemp in a press release.
The site will be developed in a joint effort between the State of Georgia and the Development Authority of Peach County and will use funds from the sale of the Chatham County Economic Development site, which was reportedly sold for $66 million in 2021 to Amazon.
“It is very encouraging to see a new, fully prepared megasite that will create more high-quality jobs for hardworking Georgians in rural parts of the state. Georgia’s superior infrastructure – including our robust highway system, rail lines, record-setting port, and top-ranked airport – continues to make doing business in the Peach State a competitive choice for companies around the world. I am thankful to Peach County for their partnership on this investment,” Kemp said.
The location is a 90-minute drive from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the busiest airport in the world, and at most a 25-minute drive from two regional airports.
“We’ve been preparing for an opportunity like this for a long time,” Chairman of the Peach County Board of Commissioners Martin Mosely said.
The site is located adjacent to Georgia Highway 96 and has immediate access to Interstate 75 and multiple metropolitan areas in the South and the Midwest.
“The Middle Georgia Megasite will put the entire Middle Georgia region on the map and position us for significant investment and new jobs. An announcement like this is transformative for a rural community, and we are so excited to be a part of something of this significance,” Moseley said.
Georgia Department of Economic Development Commissioner Pat Wilson added that the project “is an excellent example of investing in the future and long-term health of a community.”
“This joint effort will create opportunities for the entire region and the projects attracted to megasites [to] create a ripple effect of growth that crosses county lines. Right now, we’re seeing that speed to market is a driving factor for companies, and preparing site of this scale to meet companies’ timelines keeps Georgia competitive,” Commissioner Wilson said.
According to the State of Georgia website’s Mega Project Tax Credits page, there is an incentive of a “tax credit of $5,250 per job, per year for the first five years of each qualifying job that is created …” and a “maximum of 4,500 new jobs created by any one project may be eligible to receive these credits.”
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Addison Basurto is a reporter at The Georgia Star and The Star News Network. Follow Addy on Twitter and GETTR. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Brian Kemp” by Brian Kemp. Background Photo “Chatham County Administrative and Legislative Center in Savannah” by DXR. CC BY-SA 4.0.
