DEVELOPMENT
Thousands of jobs planned for new commercial, industrial projects By TOM SPIGOLON
tspigolon@covnews.com
Major industrial and commercial projects producing thousands of jobs are planned or under construction throughout Newton County. However, any listing of the county’s top industrial and commercial projects of the past year will be dominated by one not located inside the county but whose size will make it a regional employer once completed. RIVIAN INC. Electric vehicle maker Rivian Inc. plans to locate its second U.S. production facility on a 2,000-acre site on the north side of I-20, straddling the line between Walton and Morgan counties and adjacent to Newton County’s northeast border. Construction is expected to begin later this year with production starting in 2024. The plant will employ up to 7,500 and be designed to produce up to 400,000 vehicles a year, officials said. Gov. Brian Kemp announced in December that Rivian was planning the $5 billion production, research and training facility on the Stanton Springs North site owned by the four-county Joint Development Authority (JDA). The state and the JDA then announced in March the company is receiving $1.5 billion in incentives to build in Georgia, including tax credits; state and local incentives totaling $1.28 billion; $198 million in state site and road improvements and other projects and services such as a state-sponsored training center. A Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) agreement with the JDA requires Rivian to make annual payments and meet a number of performance goals, including creation of 7,500 jobs paying an average starting salary of about $55,000 apiece. Under the agreement, Georgia state government will acquire the land from the JDA and lease it to Rivian. The state government, like other public entities in Georgia, does not pay property taxes on land it owns. The agreement spelled out the amount the company will give in pay10 | Newcomer’s Guide
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ments in lieu of taxes (PILOT) which could total $300 million over 25 years and be shared between the JDA’s four counties, including Jasper, Morgan, Newton and Walton. Morgan County will receive 14.25%, or almost $43 million, of the taxes received in the PILOT agreement. Newton will receive more than $90 million of the total because it has about a 32% share of any taxes received from business parks the JDA operates. Georgia Department of Transportation announced related roadwork planned for the plant includes: • Widening of U.S. 278 from Shire Parkway in Newton County to Willow Springs Church Road in Walton County, near an employee entrance to the Rivian site. Start of construction is planned for 2023. • Construction of a Frontage Road along the north side of I-20 from U.S. Hwy. 278 at the Newton-Walton line to Old Mill Road in Morgan County. Start of work is planned for 2023. • A new I-20 interchange at Old Mill Road in Morgan County and demolition of the current Old Mill Road overpass. Construction start is set for 2024. The production facility will be where
the company produces a new SUV model expected to be more affordably priced than its current vehicles, company officials said in April. Rivian’s quarterly letter to shareholders stated that the facility would be the production site for its planned R2 platform which will be a more accessibly priced mid-sized SUV than its current line of vehicles. MORNING HORNET LLC A company called Morning Hornet LLC took ownership of a $42 billion data center project under construction in the Stanton Springs South technology park in northeast Newton County early this year. The purchase and sale agreement was for more than 628.5 acres of land, priced at $62,500 per acre. Construction of the data center, which will total approximately 2 million square feet, will be completed in phases, bond documents state. Phase 1, which is estimated to cost $750 million, is expected to be finished by Dec. 31, 2026. With 900,000 squarefeet of interior space, the Phase 1 facility’s completion will add approximately 50 new jobs. Phases 2, 3 and 4 facilities are estimated to cost $550 million each
