City and state officials, including Gov. Brian Kemp and Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, joined Norfolk Southern officials for the groundbreaking of the new Midtown headquarters on March 26. (Photos by Asep Mawardi)

Railroad shipping giant Norfolk Southern officially broke ground on its new headquarters in Midtown on Tuesday. The company, currently based in Virginia, has already begun shifting personnel to Atlanta, according to CEO Jim Squires.

Norfolk Southern CEO Jim Squires speaks at the groundbreaking.

Along with Squires, the groundbreaking ceremony drew both Gov. Brian Kemp and Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, who both praised the company on its decision.

The new headquarters building at West Peachtree Street and Ponce de Leon Avenue, which is expected to cost $575 million, is being developed by Cousins Properties. Norfolk Southern’s move is expected to create 850 new jobs. Around 2,000 employees will move to the new building from office space already located in Midtown.

Squires said 300 railway dispatchers were in the process of relocating to Atlanta and that around 100 corporate staff would begin relocation from Norfolk, VA this summer.

Norfolk Southern also recently sold property at The Gulch in Downtown for $115 million to CIM Group, which plans to build a $5 billion mixed-use development on the site.

A rendering of the new Norfolk Southern HQ and its building partners.

Collin Kelley

Collin Kelley has been the editor of Atlanta Intown for two decades and has been a journalist and freelance writer for 35 years. He’s also an award-winning poet and novelist.