ATLANTA — It’s official: Norfolk Southern is moving its headquarters to Atlanta.
“Alignment, collaboration, and accountability are the hallmarks of Norfolk Southern’s plan to transform this company and its culture. Our new headquarters in Atlanta advances these key elements of success,” CEO Jim Squires told employees in announcing the move, according to a company press release. “Our potential has always been great and now is greater still, as we bring together all of our headquarters functions into a single, integrated team.”
The move will bring together the staff currently headquartered in Norfolk, Va., with the operations staff already located in Atlanta. The railroad announced plans to relocate eight regional dispatching centers to Atlanta earlier this year.
The announcement comes after a deal was finalized for NS to sell $100 million in real estate in an Atlanta area known as “the Gulch” as part of a redevelopment project; that sale will fund the relocation process. The railroad is in negotiations to purchase a site at 650 West Peachtree St. in Midtown Atlanta for its new headquarters.
“This relocation was made possible, in part, by the passing of the Gulch deal,” Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said in the NS release, “and is a reminder that great things happen when our public and private sectors work together. Norfolk Southern will be a great addition to our city, and I look forward to partnering with them as we work to build One Atlanta.”
While the relocation process has already begun, NS said it will take “several years” to complete.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution had previously reported that the railroad will receive $23.7 million in tax breaks as part of its relocation, and promised to relocate or create 850 jobs while retaining more than 2,000 positions already in Atlanta.
