Manufacturing plant gets second life as a mixed-use development

Wire Park, a mixed-use development being built near Athens, Ga., will feature 130 residential units plus 225,000 square feet of commercial, office, and retail space. About an hour east of downtown Atlanta, the 66-acre development also will boast expansive public greenspace. 

By creating 300 jobs for Oconee County, Wire Park is one of the largest economic development projects in the community’s recent history.

An adaptive reuse of a former wire-manufacturing facility, Wire Park recently announced its newest tenants. They include the first approved brewery in Oconee County, as well as the initial tenants for The Grid at Wire Park, the first food hall in the Athens area. Also at Wire Park, three Atlanta-based businesses will expand into the Athens market. 

These businesses join previously announced tenants such as an athletic shoe store, a gym, a hair salon—and a 28,710-square-foot indoor baseball and softball training facility. The Oconee County Library also will have its new home on the site. In all, more than 20 businesses and organizations will set up shop at Wire Park.

“Wire Park is envisioned by our team to be a place where the community can gather together, and this latest round of announcements demonstrates the positive momentum for this transformative project,” Jordan Price, director of operations, Wire Park, says in a statement. “From a wide array of restaurants to a slew of shops and salons, Wire Park is positioned to be a cultural and economic anchor for Oconee County for years to come.”

Gibbs Capital, a real estate development company based in Watkinsville, Ga., leads the development and the construction. Athens’ E+E Architecture, with principal architect Chis Evens, is the design architect and architect of record. Chris Esslinger of Westside Engineering is the MEP engineer, and the structural engineer is Baku Patel of Palmer Engineering Company.