Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal officially announced, Wednesday, a major company will be relocating its headquarters to Georgia.
"This is a long-anticipated announcement that I'm going to make," Deal said before television cameras under the state capitol's gold dome. "And that is that Norfolk Southern is going to relocate its headquarters to here in midtown Atlanta."
Applause followed.
Deal confirmed the move will create about 850 jobs and lead to an investment of roughly $575 million. These will come in addition to the already existing 4,700 jobs the company already has in Georgia.
"This is the 17th Fortune 500 company to come to our state either initially or by way of relocation," Deal said. "And that is a significant thing as well."
With the plans made official, the railroad giant will be relocating to Atlanta from its namesake Norfolk, Virginia and constructing a brand new headquarters in Midtown.
"Getting to this point was like watching the sausage get made but, hey, it sure does sure taste good," Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said. "So, on behalf of the city of Atlanta, governor, I am grateful for the partnership we've had, grateful for the great legacy that you will leave with us all."
She added in a call earlier in the morning that she knew it would be an exciting day when her alarm clock was an earthquake - referencing a 4.4 magnitude tremor felt all the way into Atlanta.
According to our partners at the Atlanta Business Chronicle, Cousins Properties will develop Norfolk's new headquarters as part of a two-tower, 22-story project on a three-acre Midtown Atlanta site bordered by Spring Street, 3rd Street, West Peachtree Street and Ponce de Leon Avenue.
The new development, near Atlanta's landmark AT&T building, would add to the ongoing building boom in Midtown's Technology Square area, where several towers are already planned or are underway.
In early December, Invest Atlanta, Atlanta's development agency, approved a deal which would give Norfolk a property tax break worth nearly $24 million over 10 years for relocating to Atlanta.
"This is a big day for our company, Norfolk Southern, and that's really saying something because we have a lot of days under our belts - in fact, 188 years worth of days if you go all the way back to the beginning of our company," CEO Jim Squires said. "The relocation of our headquarters to Atlanta is a stepping stone to an even stronger company and greater success in the future."
The Chronicle reports that average pay for the new jobs they create in exchange for the move could average $105,000.
Additional details are available from our partners at the Atlanta Business Chronicle.