As part of the deal, Porsche will build offices where the plant was demolished and a test track similar to its Porsche Silverstone facility in England.

By 2013, passengers arriving at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport will be greeted by a huge red sign for one of the world’s most iconic luxury brands: Porsche.


The German automaker announced details today of its plan to build its North American headquarters and a 1.6 mile test drive track right beneath the wings of landing aircraft at the Atlanta airport on the former Ford plant in south metro Atlanta.

“It will be absolutely unique,” said Detlev von Platen, president and CEO of Porsche Cars North America, at a press conference at the state Capitol Thursday morning. The company has been based in Sandy Springs for the last 13 years, but the available land of the Ford site for the test track was a major reason for wanting to put the $100 million headquarters and its 200 local jobs to the Southside. “It will be much more than a headquarters,” he said.

The track itself will be meant as a place for potential Porsche customers to test drive options. Porsche expects about 20,000 people a year to visit it.

Mayor Reed was excited for the message the Porsche building will send to passengers arriving at Hartsfield-Jackson. “They will see the Porsche sign and associate excellence with the city of Atlanta,” he said.

The state offered $1.75 million in job tax credits, as Porsche will be moving a division from Chicago and creating about 100 new jobs in Georgia. The headquarters in general is expected to employ up to about 400 people in about five years. The Georgia Department of Transportation is adding $800,000 in infrastructure improvements to the package. Other local incentives were not yet made public, but the former Ford plant site does qualify for several programs meant to encourage development on the former industrial site, officials said.

Von Platen said that 17 sites competed aggressively for the headquarters, including other states.

He said he would have to make some calls to some governors today to tell them that “Georgia won the race.”

That fact was not lost on Gov. Nathan Deal, who said, “Detroit is just a little bit jealous.” Georgia has about 300 auto-related companies that employ about 20,000 people, he said, and the new Porsche jobs will add to that.

Porsche cars are built in Germany. Company officials said they don’t have current plans to move any assembly operations to Georgia.

Hispanic GOP group urges Porsche to build HQ outside Georgia

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By Jeremy Redmon
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A Hispanic Republican group opposed to Georgia’s new immigration enforcement law is asking Porsche to reconsider building its new North American headquarters in the state.

Somos Republicans -- an Arizona-based organization aimed at increasing the number of Latinos voting for Republican candidates -- made the request in an open letter it issued Friday concerning Georgia’s House Bill 87.

“Critics of HB 87 are already organizing boycotts, a development which should concern [Porsche], which as a Georgia-based company would likely experience a reduction in sales from such a boycott,” the letter says.

“We urge Porsche to reconsider your choice of Georgia as the site of a new headquarters facility, as we don’t believe Georgia has provided an accurate picture of Georgia’s economy and the regression into a past era where Georgia experienced some of the worst bigotry in modern times.”

A Porsche spokesman said Monday that his company is proceeding with plans to move its North American headquarters and what could be hundreds of jobs from Sandy Springs to the site of a former Ford plant near Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. Porsche first announced those plans this month.

“We are staying in Georgia. We are expanding here because of the excellent workforce and everything that we mentioned in our press conference the other day,” Porsche spokesman Steve Janisse said.

Republican Gov. Nathan Deal signed HB 87 into law this month. Much of it is scheduled to start taking effect July 1. Partly patterned after a law Arizona enacted last year, Georgia’s measure punishes people who transport or harbor illegal immigrants.

Georgia's law also penalizes people who use fake identification to get a job here. And it authorizes police to investigate the immigration status of suspects they believe have committed state or federal crimes and who cannot produce identification, such as a driver’s license, or provide other information that could help police identify them.

Somos Republicans -- or "We are Republicans" -- issued its open letter on the same day other opponents of HB 87 revealed they are divided over how to respond to Georgia’s new law.

The Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials, the Latin American Chamber of Commerce of Georgia and the Latinos in Information Sciences & Technology Association announced their opposition to economic boycotts Friday, saying they could hurt Hispanics who work in the state's tourism industry. On the other side, organizations that advocate for immigrants -- including Cuentame and Southerners on New Ground -- have encouraged businesses and conventioneers to cancel their trips to Georgia because of House Bill 87.

The author of HB 87 -- Republican Rep. Matt Ramsey of Peachtree City -- applauded Porsche's plans to stay in Georgia.

"I am glad that Porsche, like so many other businesses, has recognized all that Georgia has to offer and has chosen to expand its presence in our state," Ramsey said. "Political rhetoric from opponents of our efforts to enforce the rule of law does not change the facts that Georgia has an educated and willing workforce, a business-friendly tax and regulatory climate and a legislature and governor that understand the need to spur job creation in Georgia."