Microsoft buys another 20 acres for new Westside campus

[Chad Carrodus]

Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) purchased another 20 acres near Atlanta’s Bellwood Quarry as it continues assembling land for a new campus that could bring thousands of jobs and unprecedented investment to the city’s Westside.

Expanding its footprint: Microsoft bought undeveloped land just northeast of the Bankhead MARTA transit station near the Proctor Creek Trail and CSX railway. Microsoft paid about $22.5 million for the property, according to real estate deeds. In an email to Atlanta Business Chronicle, Microsoft declined comment about the expansion.

What it means: The property is also next to Quarry Yards, a pivotal development site next to the Bellwood Quarry that Microsoft purchased for $127 million last year. (Read more ) The tech giant now has about 90 acres near the quarry and within Grove Park, one of the city's poorest neighborhoods. It sets the stage for a project that could alter investment and development across the Westside for a generation.

Impact on Grove Park: “We are continuing to monitor the scale of this investment,” said Debra Edelson, executive director of the Grove Park Foundation. “We hope this indicates a coming partnership with the neighborhood." (Read more about efforts to revitalize Grove Park ) The Microsoft campus is also a catalyst for other projects that will transform other Westside neighborhoods, including Vine City and English Avenue. ()

Source: Atlanta Business Chronicle