For 2022-2023, 24 new and expanding firms added 1,700 new jobs and $1.1 billion in capital
investment to Gainesville-Hall County. Since 2015, 155 new and expanding businesses have
announced 8,800 jobs and $2.7 billion in new capital investment.

• The 2023 Milken Institute Report named the Gainesville-Hall County Metro Area as the Top Small Metro Area in Georgia and top 10 in the Nation for Best-Performing Small Metros. The Gainesville-Hall County MSA has ranked in the Milken Institute’s Top 10 Best Performing Small Metros for nine consecutive years.

• Georgia has earned the #1 ranking for its business environment for an unprecedented tenth year in a row; during that time, Gainesville-Hall County has been the top job producing Metropolitan Area in the state. In 2023, Area Development Magazine and Site Selection Magazine named Gainesville-Hall County one of the top Small Metros in the nation for job creation and investment. Similarly, Forbes Magazine has rated GainesvilleHall County as one of the “Best Small Places for Business & Careers” for the last nine years.

• Firms expanding their North American business include Agilox
North America (Austria), ALBAform (Czech), Boost Transport, CJ
Foodville Corporation (South Korea), Cleanspace LLC (UK),
Corporate Storage, Cottrell, Eskimo Cold Storage, Freedom Trans
USA, Harris Products, Jinsung TEC (Korea), King’s Hawaiian, Kubota
(Japan), Mars Wrigley, Mar-Jac Poultry, medmix Healthcare US Inc.
(Switzerland), Syfan Logistics, XPO Logistics, and Zebra
Technologies.

• Kubota Manufacturing of America Corporation (KMA) is
constructing a new $190 million manufacturing facility at the company’s campus in Gateway Industrial Centre and will employ an additional 500 workers in Gainesville-Hall County, bringing the company’s total employment in the community to more than 2,500. The new construction follows KMA’s opening of a new Research and Development (R&D) Center on 280 acres near Georgia Highway 365. The new R&D Center for North America created 100 jobs in engineering and other technical fields.

• The Georgia Ports Authority has engaged local construction and engineering services to develop a new inland port terminal, the Blue Ridge Connector, to provide a door-to-door rail connection for container service between the Port of Savannah and Gainesville-Hall County. Carroll Daniel Construction, Simpson Trucking & Grading, and Rochester & Associates are among the local firms that will engineer and construct the new terminal. It is expected to be completed and open in 2026.

• The family-owned, Hawaiian-inspired food company King’s Hawaiian has invested $100 million to expand its Oakwood facility, creating more than 160 new jobs. This new 150,000-square-foot bakery is located adjacent to the King’s Hawaiian’s facility on Aloha Way in the Oakwood South Industrial Park.

• Agile Cold Storage is developing an automated freezer and cold storage operation that will add more than $100 million in new investment and 10 new full-time positions. The new cold storage expansion will serve a large network of food and pharmaceutical manufacturers that rely on cold-chain logistics.

• The Swiss-owned medmix US, a global leader in precision device manufacturing, will open a new medical device manufacturing facility later this year, located at Oakwood South Industrial Park in the City of Oakwood. The company will invest $20 million in the new 300,000 square foot operation and grow to 200 employees in the next five to seven years.

• The City of Gainesville has developed the infrastructure for a new, 1,300-acre business park located between Athens Highway and Candler Road in Gainesville-Hall County. The new Gainesville 85 Business Park will include water features and walking trails and will provide major business infrastructure to support business growth in the community. AT&T has designated the new park as “Fiber-Ready” for its gigabit plus service.

• Cottrell, an industry leader in manufacturing and assembling car haulers and equipment, is completing a new manufacturing facility in Gainesville-Hall County in the new Gainesville 85 Business Park. The company is investing $157 million in the new, 600,000-square-foot facility, which will serve as the North Campus and will be located adjacent to their existing South Campus.

• CJ Logistics America, a subsidiary of Korean based CJ Foodville, is developing a 270,000 square-foot cold-chain logistics facility storage warehouse in Gainesville-Hall County. This new 270,000 square-foot facility has direct access to I-985/Hwy 365 and is adjacent to the Georgia Ports Authority’s new Blue Ridge Connector.

• BTS Bioenergy is planning to open a 51-acre
bioenergy facility in Gainesville that will
process wastewater and produce renewable
natural gas. This facility will also produce a soil
amendment, which is a crucial component in
soil blending. Onsite will be an odor control and
wastewater treatment building that will help
prevent air emissions from leaving the facility.

• Gainesville-Hall County companies, including Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health, Societal CDMO, R&D Systems (formerly Atlanta Biologicals), medmix USA, Georgia Poultry Laboratory Network, Apotheca, Inc., and Theragenics, are among the top life science firms in Hall County.

• Pattillo Industrial Real Estate plans to develop another 200,000-square-foot facility in Flowery Branch. Pattillo, Logistics Property Company, Radial Property Group, Crow Holdings Industrial, Seefried Properties, Taylor & Mathis, Prologis, Presco Property, FD Stonewater, CA Ventures, and The Adams Companies have/are developing speculative buildings for new and expanding industries in the area.

• The Business Incubator at Brenau University is a public-private partnership that provides support to start-up companies, inventors, and entrepreneurs.

• According to the Georgia Department of Labor, 5,908 business establishments represented Gainesville-Hall County employment in 2023. Ninety-nine percent of businesses are categorized as small, using the Small Business Administration’s definition of fewer than 500 employees. Ninety-four percent employ fewer than 50 people.

• Twenty small business owners earned the Greater Hall Chamber’s “Certified Small Business Partner” designation for 2023. Each “Certified Small Business Partner” participated in at least six of the Chamber’s Small Business Success Seminars last year.

• According to the Greater Hall Chamber’s logistics study, Gainesville-Hall County has a growing cluster of 76 logistics firms that employ over 4,800 and provide freight brokerage, 3PL, cold-chain logistics, and transportation services.

More than 1,200 new residential units are under development within a short walk of
Gainesville’s Downtown Square and the City’s Midtown Greenway.

• Gainesville-Hall County’s population grew by 13.8% from 2010-2020, and the City of Gainesville’s population grew by 25% during the same period. The population of Gainesville-Hall County is estimated at more than 217,690 in 2023 and is expected to grow to 245,000 by 2030. The U.S. Census Bureau has identified the Gainesville-Hall County MSA among the fastest growing
metropolitan areas in the United States.

• In 2023, Hall County governments issued 1,114 new single-family home permits. Gainesville processed 250 permits, Oakwood processed 160, and Flowery Branch processed 158. Unincorporated Hall County issued 469 permits and Lula processed 9 permits. The Hall County portions of Buford and Braselton processed 10 and 58 permits, respectively.

• The Gainesville-Hall County Metropolitan Area ranked first out of 212 metro areas in Bankrate’s Housing Heat Index, which includes the fourth highest home price appreciation in the nation. This ranking is also based on unemployment, job growth, active home listings, days on market, and population change. According to The Norton Agency, the average home price in Gainesville-Hall County was $477,141 for 2023. Furthermore, the area has about 2.4 months of supply, and homes have recently been averaging 45 days on the market. There were also 2,371 single-family home sales in Gainesville-Hall County in 2023, and
home sales over $1,000,000 are up 11.8%.

• Lanier Village Estates, a retirement community located in North Hall County, has 303 independent living apartments, 40 assisted living suites, 31 carriage homes, and 64 skilled-care rooms. The facility is completing 31 new cottages as part of their 24-acre expansion.

• The Lake Society is a new, 211-acre development at Ahaluna Drive and Dawsonville Highway in Gainesville that will include 723 new housing units for active adults and retirees. The development will include a clubhouse, marina, and indoor pool. Developer Oak Hall Companies will construct 373 single-family detached homes and 350 housing units for assisted living, memory care, independent living, and duplex cottages.

• Midland Gainesville is a new 214-unit studio apartment development under construction on the Midtown Greenway by McNeal Development. The new $57 million development will feature studio, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom apartments to meet the needs of a growing population of young professionals in Gainesville-Hall County. Amenities will include an adjoining dog park, access to the active-lifestyle greenway, and walkability to the restaurants, cafes, breweries, and events in Downtown Gainesville.

• The Everly Apartments recently completed construction and is fully leased with 10,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space and 220 market-rate apartments. A developer has begun development on Solis II on a nearby Midtown City Block to build an additional 5,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space and 180 apartments.

• Two Capital Partners is redeveloping the 25-acre property of the old Blue Ridge Shopping Center on Shallowford Road in Gainesville into 385 rental units including 161 townhomes, 70 single-family cottages, and 15,000 square feet of retail space. The development will be completed in 2024 with an investment of more than $90 million.

• The National in Downtown Gainesville, a development by Capstone Property, recently finished construction on a 153-unit studio apartment building opposite the new Courtyard Marriott Hotel.

• The City of Gainesville has approved plans for The Gainesville Township as a new 1,122-acre development near Exit 24 and Old Cornelia Highway. The development will feature 2,365 residential units including 1,414 single-family homes, 311 townhomes, 640 multifamily apartments, 75,000 square feet of commercial space, and 645 acres of greenspace.

• Lula is the next focus of Ncredible properties. A development of 19 cottage-style homes in walking distance to Downtown Lula is under construction.

• East Main I and II are currently under development in Flowery Branch for 55 and 97 single-family units, respectively, on East Main Street. Flowery Branch also has a 67-unit, single-family home project known as Park Haven in development and a 129-unit,single-family project known as Park Walk in Phase II.

The NEW Lake Lanier Olympic Park Boathouse was celebrated with a Grand Opening Ceremony on March 26th, which will be home to the Lake Lanier Rowing Club and Lanier Canoe and Kayak Club. Built by Carroll Daniel Construction and located in Gainesville at Lake Lanier Olympic Park, a brand new boathouse replaces the previous facility that was constructed for the 1996 Centennial Olympics. The new three-floor, 60,000 square-foot boathouse contains a fitness center, locker rooms, and direct access to docks, as well as storage for rowboats, canoes, and kayaks. Along with an exceptional view of Lake Lanier, the new facility will also offer meeting and event space that can host up to 400 guests.

Article Provided By Greater Hall County Chamber of Commerce Economic Development

Things to do in Gainesville

Explore Gainesville in a variety of ways. Hike trails with beautiful lake and mountain views and abundant wildlife. Connect with nature by strolling through beautiful gardens. Get creative with art classes, exhibits and even a public art tour. When it comes to family fun, Gainesville is second to none! There are plenty of kid-friendly and family fun attractions to discover.

https://www.exploregainesville.org/things-to-do/