Second, the various stakeholders in the future development of the region surrounding the airport are now using the same telescope to view the future of the south side of Atlanta. That project, which opened in January 2015, puts a premier automotive brand’s signature North American facility in the heart of the Atlanta Aerotropolis. First, the planets have finally lined up, the biggest of which was Porsche Cars North America’s decision to build its North American headquarters and Experience Center (test track included) on a former Ford assembly plant site adjacent to HJAIA that was rehabilitated by Jacoby Development. Public officials in the municipalities surrounding HJAIA, economic developers with the state and at Georgia Power, airport management and other stakeholders know well the economic engine that the airport is - it contributes more than $32 billion to the region’s economy and is directly responsible for 63,000 jobs. Atlanta Regional Commission Executive Director Doug Hooker has been championing the notion for more than a decade. It’s not that local leadership didn’t try. Metro Atlanta-based Site Selection has covered airport developments for more than a decade, but only now can we report on progress at its home airport, as the Atlanta Aerotropolis Alliance, organized in very recent years, gains altitude. But it hasn’t happened in Atlanta, home of the world’s busiest airport by passengers - Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (HJAIA) reached the 100 million annual passengers mark in December 2015 - until now. Airport cities - or their larger counterparts, aerotropolises - have sprung up around airports in these and many other locations in recent years. You’ll find them in Paris, Hong Kong, Dallas-Fort Worth, Amsterdam.

College park airport city master plan