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Key Players
While it was Jim Jacoby’s courage and vision that made Atlantic Station happen, there were other key
players in the project. The first was Dr. Hilburn O. Hillestad, the chief of environmental affairs for
Jacoby Development. Hillestad served 11 years as a vice president and corporate ecological consultant
with Law Engineering and Environmental Services, Inc. in Atlanta. He was the environmental health
officer for the South Dakota Air National Guard and served as chief of the Wildlife and Fisheries
Department for the U.S. Virgin Islands. He brought the availability and remediation potential of the
site to Jacoby’s attention.
The second was Charlie Brown, the developer of Technology Park, John’s Creek, and Lennox Park.
Brown’s experience and community relations skill was essential to the success of the project. His phone
call to Jacoby set the stage for launching the $2 billion project. While Jacoby had first looked at the
Atlantic steel site as a possible Wal-mart location, Brown had plans for a "high-tech park" on
a parcel of land in the same vicinity. When the two spoke the vision changed.
Finally there was Brian Leary, who, as a Georgia Tech student, wrote his master’s thesis on the
redevelopment of the Atlantic Steel site into a multi-purpose community. He is vice president, Design and
Development of Atlantic Station, and has been instrumental in shaping the composition of the development.
Through the Roof
In addition to brisk retail business at Atlantic Station, the sale of housing has gone through the roof,
particularly among the young and hip, and empty nesters, the two groups that form Atlantic Station’s
prime target markets.
The Atlantic Station development is divided into three areas—the District, the Commons and the Village.
The District is the entertainment and shopping area, the Commons is an urban neighborhood that offers a
mix of town homes and up to 5,000 apar tments. Then there is the Village where the Ikea store and hundreds
of homes are located. The first condo tower is already a sold out and another is being built. Sales at the
Village have also gone extremely well. Said Jacoby, "Housing and office space are being sold at 30
percent to 50 percent above pro forma."
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