Construction at Rowen, the ambitious Gwinnett County life sciences campus, has only just gotten underway – but it’s already landed a (very) big fish. Belgium-based UCB Inc., a biopharmaceutical company that makes medicines for people with neurological and autoimmune conditions, has announced a massive, $2 billion manufacturing facility that will anchor Rowen’s 2,000-acre campus. The deal is the largest in Gwinnett history, and is a huge win for Georgia’s burgeoning life sciences industry and its future home at Rowen. RISING…
Atlanta, Fulton Co. square off in tax fight
The City of Atlanta has long used tax allocation districts (TADs) as an economic development tool, leveraging property tax increases to pay for local infrastructure projects. But the Fulton County Commission has slammed on the brakes, voting 4-1 to reject a proposed 30-year extension of Atlanta’s TADs. That sets up a major budgetary clash, as the Fulton TADs would be expected to generate over a billion dollars over that period. Now the county will vote on TADs on a case by case basis, with stricter oversight and enforcement, leaving Atlanta’s money faucet DRIFTING…
