Samir Abdullahi, Director, Select Fulton
As the sixth largest metro in the nation, Atlanta continues to shine as one of the best markets for businesses. In an interview with Focus:, Select Fulton Director Samir Abdullahi highlighted growing industries and ways his organization helps guide the growth happening in the city of Atlanta and adjacent cities. “Georgia’s historical ranking as the top state for business, coupled with its excellent transportation and transit infrastructure, ensures business continuity and makes the region a prime investment location,” Abdullahi said.
What key changes in the past year have most impacted Select Fulton’s economic development strategy?
Businesses face a highly unstable and unpredictable global environment, influenced by international market fluctuations, geopolitical tensions, and domestic political shifts leading to impacts like tariffs. This uncertainty makes long-term planning challenging for companies, affecting not only job creation but also investment, particularly for those deploying capital into development projects, which is a key focus for us.
In contrast, the Atlanta market consistently offers stability for businesses. Georgia’s historical ranking as the top state for business, coupled with its excellent transportation and transit infrastructure, ensures business continuity and makes the region a prime investment location. Companies frequently note that Atlanta’s market is younger and growing faster than its competitors. As the sixth-largest metro area, we continue to expand rapidly, outpacing other jurisdictions.
These factors have significantly benefited our region, attracting major companies like Mercedes-Benz, which has consolidated and expanded operations here. Unlike other rapidly growing markets such as Austin, Nashville or Charlotte, Atlanta remains affordable despite its growth. These comparable markets are quickly becoming overpriced. Even as the sixth-largest metro in the country, Atlanta can absorb substantial additional investments and workforce for the foreseeable future, positioning the region exceptionally well for sustained growth over the coming decades.
What sectors are driving the most interest in Fulton County, and where is the most momentum?
Atlanta continues to be a destination for Fortune 500 like companies such as Morgan Stanley, Microsoft, Visa, and Boston Scientific, all of which have relocated to the region in the last couple of years. Our growth has been significantly driven by the expanding fintech sector, where we’ve gained considerable traction. Transaction Alley, located along the Georgia 400 corridor, is a prime example, facilitating 80% of credit card transactions through companies like Fiserv. Visa’s decision to establish a substantial presence here, followed by MasterCard at Ponce City Market, underscores the region’s appeal. This trend is mirrored by Boston Scientific.
We are also a hub for life sciences, home to the CDC and Emory University, boasting a strong infrastructure for this growing market. While we historically lacked sufficient lab space compared to cities like Boston or New York, we are actively addressing this. Projects like Science Square at Georgia Tech, bolstered by recent investments from Duracell and Shriners, demonstrate our commitment to building spec life science spaces and attracting this market. Furthermore, we excel in corporate solutions, drawing company headquarters and fulfilling their diverse space requirements. We’re also observing sustained growth in data and call centers. These areas represent the primary drivers of our recent industrial expansion.
How are Select Fulton’s economic development tools being tailored to support high value projects?
Our motivation lies in tangible capital investments. We offer assistance with significant capital investment projects, whether they involve equipment acquisition or new construction. We can help offset initial capital costs to facilitate market entry, or for those already building in the market, we can assist in finding short-term tax offsets. This approach helps launch projects even without committed tenants, stimulating real estate activity. For example, Science Square was developed without pre-committed tenants, and we are now seeing the positive outcomes. Furthermore, we prioritize being a strong partner to the 15 cities that comprise Atlanta, as well as our surrounding partners in the metro Atlanta region. A success for one of them is a success for all of us. The spillover effect is genuine, and we are not concerned if a project locates in a neighboring jurisdiction – it simply enhances the overall scale of what metro Atlanta offers.
What are some ongoing efforts to support the region’s talent needs?
Our current infrastructure is not optimally designed for the inbound market. Our workforce development initiatives primarily focus on upskilling low-skilled individuals to achieve middle-income wages, utilizing tools like digital literacy classes to prepare them for technical college degrees and certifications. While we have been successful in recruiting companies, we need to improve local talent training. Many companies struggle to find local talent to fill their roles, a challenge common in growing markets like Atlanta. The main reason for job vacancies is a skills mismatch. Individuals lack the training for the skills companies require. To address this, we collaborate with our five country workforce boards to publicize job opportunities and connect companies with available talent pools.
What are the main priorities for your operations for the near future?
Traditionally, suburban markets are less attractive for commercial investment such as office space. Our primary focus is on legacy, premier class-A office spaces, as these properties are in high demand, particularly in areas like Atlanta, where they command strong lease rates and interest. We anticipate a continued trend of companies relocating from downtown Atlanta to Midtown, a few blocks north, seeking more vibrant activity centers to retain their workforce.
For us, it’s about empowering our cities to embrace this growth by encouraging infill development and more creative zoning policies. While increasing density can be challenging, it represents a future growth pattern and a strategy to address evolving preferences for work locations. As economic developers, we seek to optimize commercial land use and encourage cities to learn from successful examples in other markets. A significant part of our work involves sharing regional opportunities and knowledge with smaller cities to help them future-proof their development.
