While the centennial Olympic Games may be over and gone from Georgia, the legacy of economic development springing from the 17-day athletic spectacle is just beginning to be felt.

Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce photo. Metro Atlanta led all the U.S. states in 1995 (for the fourth straight year) in job creation with more than 87,500 net new jobs.

Corporations from around the world and other U.S. states have a multitude of reasons to keep Georgia on their mind. Of course, some of those advantages were integral to the state long before it struck Olympic gold. Georgia's work force continues to be the root of its success, and the standard of living that Georgians work so diligently to maintain costs fully 8 percent less than the national average.

Building on a record-breaking, $3.1 billion in new capital investment and 19,500 new jobs for manufacturing in 1995, Georgia sailed to No. 7 of all the states with more than 400 new and expanded facilities during 1996. Among metropolitan areas, Atlanta was topped only by Chicago and Dallas. Georgia is a people magnet: Since 1970, Atlanta's metro population has doubled to 3.4 million.

With the world coming to visit -- or at least tuning in for a look -- telecommunications was a priority of Olympic preparation. Within the Olympic Ring -- Atlanta's central business district -- cellular capability increased 800 percent. Around the state, 400,000 miles of fiber-optic cable was installed, and most of this infrastructure is permanent. BellSouth successfully met the challenge of handling more than a million extra minutes of transmissions per day during the Games. Already being wired pays, as communities like Hawkinsville discovered when it lured the back-office operations of Leshner Industries to south central Georgia five years ago. Technological feats are nothing new in Georgia: The first commercial modem was produced here, as was the first Windows-based word processing software. Atlanta's Ted Turner was the first to broadcast a cable television station's signal via satellite. Just outside busy Interstate-285 ringing Atlanta, Lucent Technologies' fiber-optic cable plant in Norcross is among the world's largest. And the state is forging ahead with some major high-tech initiatives. For example, the Georgia Statewide Academic and Medical Systems is a US$73 million venture to link 280 distance learning/teleconferencing sites, including dozens of colleges, universities, and technical institutes, and 45 telemedicine facilities.

Sum of Your Business Georgia is earning a reputation for its commitment to higher education, by virtue of programs such as HOPE (Helping Outstanding Pupils Educationally). Full collegiate scholarships are guaranteed for students who maintain a B average. Another initiative -- Georgia's Quick Start program -- has been around for 30 years. Since 1967, more than 100,000 workers have benefited from manufacturing and service training offered at 33 technical institutes and four affiliated colleges around the state. Instruction is tailored to each business, and includes computer skills and a broad variety of manufacturing technologies. The program is entirely state-funded, and is available to both new and expanding companies. The state also offers various fiscal incentives to relocating and expanding firms. Georgia has foreign trade zones located near the coast in Brunswick and Savannah, and in Atlanta, which also has two enterprise zones.

The Georgia Center for Advanced Telecommunications Technology, a division of the public-private Georgia Research Alliance, is "building a bridge between research in the new technologies and commercial product," says director Michael Cummins.

Historically, Atlanta has been a transportation hub, explains Cummins, and the telecom center "is a natural extension of that for the Electronic Age." Among other projects, the center is nurturing four incubator companies. One of them, Media4, seeks to use satellite technology to distribute multimedia content to home computers. The next Ted Turner could be right here.

Legacy of the Games

At no time did Georgia rest on its Olympic laurels. Atlanta's landing of the Games led to the creation of Operation Legacy, an economic development campaign run by the Governor's Development Council, NationsBank, the Georgia Department of Industry, Trade and Tourism, the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games and Georgia Power, which proposed the initiative.

Before and during the Games, hundreds of industry executives from outside Georgia were courted through Operation Legacy programs.

"This was not just Atlanta," said Georgia Power's Lynn Pitts, manager of Operation Legacy. "We had 20 different communities we sent these people to. We identified companies that had potential for development, whether they had active programs or not."

Pitts said the state needed to sell itself as more than just the host of the Games. "This wouldn't work in Russia. You have to have a good work environment," he said. "Georgia is a place for basic manufacturing, a great place to service the American market." What's the payoff from Operation Legacy? So far, 18 companies are bringing 3,000 new jobs to Georgia as a result of the program. Among them are Komatsu Forklift in Covington, AMR TeleService in Columbus, Fisher-Price in Augusta and Sitel in Savannah.

Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce photo. The World of Coca-Cola memorabilia museum draws 1 million visitors yearly. Atlanta is the birthplace and corporate home of The Coca-Cola Co.

And Operation Legacy's work continues. "It can run as long as we want to run it," says Randolph (Randy) Cardoza, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Industry, Trade and Tourism (GDITT). Also, new industry groups will be targeted, including telecommunications, environmental technology and biotechnology sectors.

Georgia Power will continue spearheading the effort through December 1997, Cardoza said, and then would like to see his agency assume responsibility. GDITT recently scored a triumph of its own: the wooing of SKC Ltd., a division of South Korea's Sunkyong Group. The manufacturer broke ground about 30 miles east of Atlanta in Newton County last October for a $250 million polyester film plant, a facility that will see an investment of $1.5 billion over the next decade.

Ports Aplenty By air and by sea, Georgia has plenty of ports to smooth the way for business. For example, five deepwater terminals operate in Georgia, two in Savannah and three in Brunswick. Since 1991, Savannah's port has undergone more than $100 million in improvements, making it accessible to 98 percent of the ships currently in trade. Georgia Dept. of Industry, Trade and Tourism photo. Hub of the South: by air at Atlanta's Hartsfield... Brunswick, 80 miles south of Savannah, has three terminals, and, like its neighboring port city, a foreign trade zone. Plans are under way to deepen the 30-foot channel here by six feet, and a new $30 million bridge with vertical clearance of 185 feet is under construction. Completion is expected in 1999. Atlanta's Hartsfield International Airport is so large, so complex, so much an anchor for industry in its part of town -- 10 miles south of the central business district -- that it has its own area chamber of commerce. It features four runways, four fire stations, its own rail transit system, supports nearly 30 carriers and two dozen hotels, and handles 50 million passengers and around a half-million tons of cargo annually. Georgia Dept. of Industry, Trade and Tourism photo. ...by rail via CSX... And it's growing. A projected fifth commuter runway could expand Hartsfield's capacity by one-third. The new runway is expected to cost $430 million, but should ultimately save $75 million annually by reducing delays. The airport's 30-year master plan should be made final by fall 1997. The Tradeport, Hartsfield's foreign trade zone, is following suit. This 260-acre development adjacent to the airport is home to businesses related to shipping and distribution. Real estate developer Anderson Properties has initiated $88 million in assorted projects here, including a $20 million, 284,000 sq.-ft. FedEx ground transport facility and a $10 million, 345,000 sq.-ft. speculative warehouse being built by Trammel Crow. Georgia Dept. of Industry, Trade and Tourism photo. ...and by sea at Savannah and Brunswick. Hartsfield is now seeking to cement its status as a major transportation hub. It is two hour's flight-time from 80 percent of the nation's populace and 79 percent of the 150 largest metropolitan areas in the U.S. Airport officials are most concerned about fortifying cargo facilities here, and for simplifying road access to Interstates 75 and 85, which straddle Hartsfield.

Cardoza believes SKC's coming bodes well for further interest in Georgia from the Pacific Rim nations. Not content to wait for Asian firms to come here, GDITT appointed representatives there. "We've opened our office in Shanghai, and one in Kuala Lumpur," says Cardoza. And Georgia officials are planning to attend the international property show MIPIM '97 in Cannes, France, where thousands of corporate site-seekers will gather for four days in March at the world's largest real estate event of its kind. Juice -- and More Electrical power for SKC's new plant will be provided by Oglethorpe Power, says Louis Lockhart, director of economic development for the utility. "In Georgia, in commerce and industry, any power requirements exceeding 900 kilowatt hours connected can be competed for," he explains. "Other states offer customer choice, but they have high minimum thresholds of kilowatt hours. We're used to competition, and competition has to benefit the customer." Oglethorpe's major competitor is Georgia Power. Besides selling electricity, Georgia Power also aids initiatives around the state, from independents, such as United Pulaski in Hawkinsville, to collectives. Brad Morris, president of the Henry County chamber, said, "Georgia Power assisted us with a grant in getting together Metro South, an alliance of six county development groups on Atlanta's south side." Company representatives also refer prospective industrial clients to developers, as they did for Eagle's Landing in Henry County. "We'll do marketing trips, we'll be proactive," said John Malone, Georgia Power's marketing and facilities location manager. "We know we'll be trying to sell some part of the Southeast." Savannah to the South Savannah is where it all started. Georgia was founded there in 1733 by James Edward Oglethorpe as the last of England's 13 original North American colonies. The array of public squares Oglethorpe designed and the magnificent structures surrounding them constitute one of the largest historic districts in the country. What began as a settlement of 115 people has grown into a coastal metropolis of more than a quarter-million people, with a civilian work force of about 130,000. Counting both Fort Stewart and Hunter Army Airfield, there are about 20,000 military personnel in the area. Each year, many elect to remain after they end their military service, providing a highly trained, disciplined labor pool. A microcosm of local commerce is Savannah's Crossroads Business Center. The 1,784-acre industrial park was a project of the Savannah Economic Development Authority. In 1991, the entire park received all its wetlands protection permits through an innovative interpretation of the Clean Water Act. Companies locating here can sidestep up to 18 months of delays for permitting. Not only is the Crossroads facility adjacent to Savannah International Airport, it is bordered by Interstate 95, and has direct roadway access to the Port of Savannah. The park is serviced by Norfolk Southern and CSX railroads. "Based on these characteristics, Home Depot chose Crossroads for its 1.5 million-sq.-ft. world distribution center," explains Harry Kitchen, principal of the Zaremba Foxfield Partnership. Kitchen's venture has developed a 290-acre site at the park and erected a 105,000-sq.-ft. speculative building there.

River Cities West

Mid-state along Georgia's "inland coast," where the Chattahoochee River forms the border with Alabama, is Columbus. No single industry sector dominates now in this town once ruled by the milling and shipping of cotton. As of 1993, manufacturing, services, government and trade each claimed about 20 percent of industry here.

The presence of the military is all-pervasive, however, thanks to Fort Benning. "There's a very large group of retired Fort Benning persons here, in everything from banking to charity," said David L. Garriga, senior vice president of economic development for the Columbus chamber. One reason for the ubiquity of former service people is Columbus' Job Assistance Center, a government contractor that Garriga said "supplements our standard placement centers [and] can identify skilled [military] people for specialized jobs."

Since 1988, about 12,500 new jobs have been created here. Twenty-five-hundred of those came from the city's ability to hang on to home-grown Total Systems Services, Inc (TSYS), a credit card processessing company. TSYS considered making Alabama the location for its new headquarters, but Georgia assembled $25 million in incentives, including a program to train a workforce for the company at Columbus College. By 2003, the company's million-sq.-ft., $100 million riverside facility will employ 5,000. Columbus takes pride in its diversity, not only in commerce but also in culture: restaurants offering French, Korean and German foods co-exist with country and western bars, a symphony orchestra, a planetarium and a Civil War museum. The presence of Japanese companies here, including Mutec and Panasonic, has even led to the formation of a "Saturday school," where Japanese natives living in Columbus can maintain links with their own culture. Albany, almost central to Georgia's southwestern quadrant, is split by the Flint River, a significant fact in the city's recent, checkered history. This town is Georgia's comeback kid: Within one decade, it endured identification by the FBI as the 1988 murder capital of the U.S., survived being submerged when the Flint overflowed its banks in 1994, and finally rebounded from the 20 percent unemployment subsequent to that devastating flood. Today, the rate stands at 6.4 percent, and a task force was established to address the domestic violence behind many killings there. Although numerous flood-displaced families remained in temporary housing, Albany nevertheless managed to surpass other Georgia cities in Money magazine's 1995 "Best Places" survey of 300 U.S. cities. It finished 115th. Clean air and low medical costs contributed to the favorable rating, but the city's robust economy was a primary factor. Procter and Gamble Paper Products Co., the largest manufacturing employer, committed $380 million in 1994 to upgrading and expanding its Albany plant. The plant's work force is expected to grow to nearly 1,500. Macon in the Middle Macon is nearly at the heart of Georgia, only 18 miles from the state's geographic center. The city stands at the junction of Interstates 75 and 16 in Bibb County. The area it occupies was once home to Creek Indians, whose spectacular burial and ceremonial mounds exist today as the Ocmulgee National Monument. Settlers moved in around 1806, and they made cotton the centerpiece of their economy.

Making Real Estate WISER, More FLEXible The Walker Companies are in the location business: finding them for some clients, selling them for others, and helping to extract the greatest value from property. A 16-member staff provides surplus property disposal and facility development services to an impressive list of firms including Coca-Cola, Home Depot and American Express. The high-tech tools used by the Atlanta-based firm in its capacity as a location consultant warrant closer attention. The Walker Company's two proprietary computer models, WISER (Walker Industrial Site Evaluation and Review) and FLEX (Facility Location Expert), work in conjunction with a Geographic Information System to consider many sets of site selection criteria at once. WISER collates data on any available facilities of 40,000 square feet or more, identifying all buildings that meet a client's requirements. FLEX then provides comparative cost analysis of each site, figuring in labor, taxes, utilities and logistics. " We've put factories and warehouses in the middle of nowhere. " The results have landed some clients in unlikely places, often at considerable savings. "We've put factories and warehouses in the middle of nowhere," boasts company president Raymond C. Walker. The firm's recent placement of Home Depot in Savannah's Crossroads Business Center doesn't fit that category, however. With 32 acres of building, the residential supply giant's first import distribution center would qualify as someplace, no matter where it might be. "We did a very extensive location development. It's a $70 million investment in the Savannah community," Walker said. The facility is expected to be fully operational by March 1997.

Today, agriculture is minimal here. Cagle's Inc. employs about 1,000 at a poultry processing plant, but its raw material is shipped in from neighboring counties. Retail trade accounts for a quarter of Macon's nearly 7,500 businesses, and officials here attribute 40 cents of every dollar spent to people from outside Bibb County. Macon Mall is presently the state's largest, at 1.6 million square feet.

Aerospace industries thrive in Macon, largely due to the proximity of Warner Robins Air Logistics Center with 20,000 military and civilian workers. "A number of suppliers have grown here," explains Paul Nagle, president of the Macon Economic Development Commission. "A big portion of the C17, McDonnel Douglas' new heavy-lift jet, is made here."

IKON Capital's expansions in Macon, including a three-story office building, are expected to bring more than 500 new jobs to the Central Georgia city. Macon beat out two other Southeastern cities for its "quality of life, outstanding work force and the community's interest in us," IKON said.

Like Albany, Macon had more water than it needed in 1994, year of the so-called 500-year flood. As a result of the need to construct a new reservoir above flood stage, Macon has a total capacity of 60 million gallons of water per day, double present usage. "That reservoir will allow us to answer peak demand for 180 days at peak drought conditions," says Nagle.

The Macon Economic Development Commission earns a nod for the guidebook it presents to prospective investors. The impressively exhaustive and useful volume offers everything from a roster of local houses of worship by denomination to thorough crime statistics. "We're proud of that book," says Nagle. The organization found itself consistently confronted by "questions we'd never been asked before." Nagle and his colleagues decided, "Let's get an indexed, cross-referenced book that answers all those questions."

North by Northeast

Gainesville, Hall County's seat, nestles among the foothills of the Southern Appalachians in northeast Georgia. Although the city's sobriquet, "Poultry Capital of the World," was bumped off the water tower by an Olympic message, agribusiness is still big. One in four workers is employed in this sector, which generates $145 million annually.

Fieldale Farms is the largest employer, with 2,250 workers, while ConAgra Poultry employs 1,300. Even Gainesville's largest foreign-owned concern, Mar-Jac, with 800 employees, is a poultry processor. But the community is not content merely to count on its chickens. Synergy is key in Hall County. Cullen Larson, then vice president of the Greater Hall Chamber of Commerce, summed up their approach: "We take an existing industry [in the county] and look for suppliers they might want to locate nearby." In 1995, a group of local chamber and economic development officials visited several of Siemens Automotives' European suppliers before attracting Morat Gear Technology, a German plastic injection molding operation, to Hall County. Today, they produce the plastic gears that Siemens integrates into small motors for car windows. Larson accompanied Gainesville Mayor George Wangemann on a trade mission to Japan in 1995, and now delegations from Europe and Asia are common in Gainesville. "There've been so many groups through here," he says. "We've been dealing with the Koreans, the Dutch. The Germans come most." Car parts and fryers alone are not drawing all this attention. Nearby is Lake Lanier, a 38,000 acre man-made lake that has been hugely popular for motorboating for decades. More recently, the lake's use as a venue for canoe and kayak competitions has inspired rowing clubs in the area.

Making a Place for Green Space Some Georgia communities are committed to preserving the environmental integrity of land developed for new industry. For example, in Fulton County, the South Fulton Parkway Alliance of land owners and developers, county government and the Georgia Power Co. are focused on plans for the proposed 19-mile-long roadway with access to more than 100,000 acres of prime real estate. "The Alliance is trying to develop the parkway according to the wishes of the community, so when you ride along it, you'll see trees," says Ed Nelson of Fulton County's Economic Development Office. The group has drafted a vision statement that calls for setbacks, landscape buffers, protection of environmentally sensitive areas -- and an industrial park. At the north end of Fulton County, there's a similar confluence of agendas. The City of Roswell has created six economic development districts -- the high-tech zone is known as "Ion Alley" -- and officials are seeking to protect property values in those areas. "This has been a good balancing act for us," says Roswell Community Development Director David Clabo. "We're working with communities to upgrade what they have." In addition, a United Parcel Service distribution center is being built in Roswell. "They have their corporate headquarters just south of us," explains Clabo. The new $20 million facility will be part of a network of six local UPS centers, and is expected to employ about 165.

At the eastern end of Lake Lanier is the upscale community of Cumming in Forsyth County. Housing developments typically feature country-club amenities, says Cumming-Forsyth County chamber president Patrick Topping. He estimates the average resale price of homes is about $158,000.

Housing costs didn't discourage General Motors, though. The automotive giant is building its first training facility outside the Detroit area at Forsyth County's 730-acre Meadows Park. Topping points to activity there and at area industrial developments as indicators of interest.

"Bluegrass [industrial park] just opened its Phase Two, an additional 500 acres," Topping says. "Phase One opened early this year 80 percent occupied." The Smart Corp., which maintains medical records for doctors and hospitals, broke ground there in November on a 57,000-square-foot facility that will bring 130 jobs.

Athens, Georgia Style

Athens, home to the University of Georgia, is 65 miles northeast of Atlanta. Research is the chief draw for this city of 130,000, 12,000 of whom are university students. Rhone Mereieux, a France-based biotechnology concern, has expanded steadily since its start in the early 1980s. The maker of vaccines currently employs 340 workers.

Other industries are taking advantage of the educated populace in more prosaic ways. "Dial Corp. has a call center here. Most of their staff is students," said Paul Miller of the Athens chamber of commerce.

Danaklon, a polypropylene fiber manufacturer, recently completed its 85,000 square-foot U.S. headquarters here. "We were competing with South Carolina for the project," Miller said. In the end, he noted, "Atlanta Airport was very important to them."

Well-known as the birthplace of the band REM, Athens is still a countercultural Mecca, drawing visitors from Atlanta. Watson Mill Bridge State Park is a draw for nature enthusiasts.

'Hotlanta' -- Hub of the South

Terminus -- the end of the line -- was the name Atlanta wore when it was the westernmost point along the W & A Railroad in the 1840s. Today, home to the world's largest airport, Atlanta is a transcontinental crossroads. It is a fixture on Fortune magazine's lists of the best cities for business, and it's a hub for telecommunications. No wonder that business giants such as United Parcel Service, AFLAC, Home Depot and Delta Airlines are headquartered there.

Mark Hanley, director of the Ryder Shared Service Center, says Atlanta provided just what his company was seeking last spring: "We looked around the country at 50 or 60 cities," he said. "The city had to be large enough to accommodate our employee needs. At any given time, there are not that many [speculative] buildings this size -- five floors, 135,000 square feet -- available. We needed one with high density parking to accommodate a back-office operation. One other criterion: a Central or Eastern time zone, which is where most of our customers and districts are."

Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce photos.
"Atlanta From the Ashes" commemorates Atlanta's rebirth after the Civil War and the city's symbol, the phoenix.

Just being near Atlanta is enough for some companies. For examaple, the MAXXIS Corp., a manufacturer of hard-rubber agricultural utility wheels -- the kind found on wheelbarrows -- purchased a speculative structure in Newnan, southwest of Atlanta on I-85. "They were looking for proximity to Atlanta," said Gene Stinson, President of 21st Century Coweta, an area development group. MAXXIS Corp.'s new 56,000-sq.-ft. facility is expected to provide 50 jobs by the end of 1999.

Atlantans aren't all business all the time, though, and the array of diversions available to them, cultural and otherwise, is staggering. The injection of a 21-acre green space in the form of Centennial Olympic Park into downtown Atlanta made it inevitable that efforts to reclaim the area would follow the end of the Games.

City officials presently are deciding how best to proceed with development around the new park, with some plans calling for up to 50 acres of business park to replace nearby warehouses and rail yards. Across downtown from the park, Atlanta's champion baseball team, the Braves, expect to begin playing in the reconfigured Olympic track and field stadium at the start of the 1997 season.

Development is both a blessing and a challenge for Atlanta. How to get enough water and how to keep it clean are big questions. Transportation issues remain to be settled. Still, Atlanta beckons, as does the entire state. The Olympic legacy shines on, lighting a path to Georgia.

-- Ed Hall is an Atlanta-based
free-lance writer.