New developer of Ford plant envisions 10,000 jobs

NORFOLK

The developer who plans to buy Ford Motor Co.'s shuttered Norfolk pickup assembly plant said Thursday that the redevelopment of the site could help create as many as 10,000 jobs for the region.

Jim Jacoby, who has a track record of large redevelopment projects in Atlanta, reached a deal earlier this year to purchase the plant. He wants to turn the site into a mixed-use industrial park with a focus on green energy.

In a speech to local commercial real estate executives, the developer said the redeveloped site could employ as many as 2,000 workers, which would help create other jobs in the region.

"We're trying to bring in as many high-tech jobs, green jobs - it's all about jobs," he said.

The plant off Indian River Road sits on 109 acres and has 2.6 million square feet of industrial space. It employed about 2,400 workers when Ford announced in April 2006 that the plant would close in June 2007.

This summer, Ford Motor Co. began demolishing buildings at the plant ahead of finalizing the sale, which is expected to occur before the end of this year.

Ford plans to demolish all structures on the site with the exception of the 662,000-square-foot main assembly building, which Jacoby is already shopping around to potential tenants, including many companies that make electric and hybrid automobiles. Jacoby also said he wants to install solar panels on the roof.

The developer expects demolition and environmental work at the site to continue for two years.

Jacoby is known for an Atlanta project called Atlantic Station - a 138-acre retail, condo and apartment development on the site of a former steel mill. The project took nearly a decade to complete and opened in 2005.

In June 2008, his company purchased the 122-acre Ford assembly plant next to the Atlanta airport with plans to turn it into a mixed-use development including office, retail and hospitality space.

Jacoby has declined to release specific details about his deal to purchase the Norfolk Ford plant because of a nondisclosure agreement with the Dearborn, Mich.-based automaker. However, The Wall Street Journal, citing an anonymous source, put the purchase price at "nearly $17 million." The city of Norfolk values the property at around $84 million for tax purposes.

Josh Brown, (757) 446-2318, josh.brown@pilotonline.com