UPS is paying the federally designated Atlanta Empowerment Zone $3.6 million or $120,000 per acre ($2.75 per sf) for the land. The new center would be the company's fifth major distribution location in metro Atlanta.
UPS hasn't completed all of the development details, including the size of the hub. But in a prepared statement, the world's largest express carrier and package delivery company says the center and its grounds will accommodate at least 100 trucks; initially employ 300 fulltime workers and possibly 200 part-timers in the near future.
The site is on University Avenue, just south of Turner Field and across from the Interstate 75/interstate 85 connector, an ideal location for access to both Downtown and Hartsfield International Airport, UPS officials says in their statement.
The Atlanta Empowerment Zone, created by former President Bill Clinton in 1994, encompasses 30 poor neighborhoods that ring the city's central business district. The UPS statement says the 94-year-old company has hired 40,000 persons to date through its Welfare to Work initiative.
The company operates in 200 countries with a global staff of 359,000. UPS moved its world headquarters to suburban Sandy Springs, GA from Seattle in 1991. The carrier has four large package-sorting centers in metro Atlanta and about 24 smaller distribution facilities around the area's perimeter.
© Arc, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to TMSalesOperations@arc-network.com. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.