ATLANTA—Park Center, a new 17-acre master-planned project in the Perimeter Center area of Dunwoody, GA, is underway. State Farm is leasing 585,000 square feet in the transit-oriented development's first office building.

First up will be a 13-story building that sits on a seven-story parking structure with ground floor retail space. The class A office building calls a four-acre site at Hammond Drive and Perimeter Center Parkway, which is next to the Dunwoody MARTA station, home.

State Farm has sanctioned the new Park Center office building as its new Atlanta hub. The insurance company employs about 5,500 people in the metro Atlanta area. In the coming years, State Farm will have about 8,000 employees in the metro Atlanta area.

“This is an exciting day for KDC, as we officially break ground on the much anticipated transit-oriented development and new home for State Farm,” says Larry Wilson, a division president at KDC.  “Our focus is on creating an attractive, walkable community in which employees and residents are connected to daytime and nighttime activities, with easy access to MARTA. We plan to create a true sense of place that promotes an active and thriving environment.”

State Farm will take up residency in the office tower in late 2016. KDC is building towards LEED Silver certification. KDC also is developing four office buildings, in which State Farm is leasing 2 million square feet, at its CityLine mixed-use project in the Dallas suburb of Richardson

“State Farm's decision to expand its presence here is a testament to our state's competitive business environment,” said Gov. Nathan Deal. “One of the leading insurance providers in the nation, State Farm will benefit from Georgia's pro-business infrastructure, and our highly skilled workforce will help the company continue to provide the highest levels of customer service to policyholders.”

At full build out, the transit-oriented development will include 2.2 million square feet of office space, 100,000 square feet of retail, restaurants and entertainment, and a 175-room select service hotel. Cooper Carry & Associates is the shell building and interiors architect. Holder Construction Company is the general contractor for the project.

“The KDC project and State Farm's entry into the City of Dunwoody are game-changers for the entire north metro Atlanta region,” says Dunwoody Mayor Michael Davis. “This high-quality development strengthens Dunwoody and the central Perimeter area as Atlanta's largest office market.”