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Forsyth County pushes tech motif along Ga. 400 By PATRICK FOX and TIFFANY MORGAN pat@appenmedia.com newsroom@appenmedia.com NORTH METRO ATLANTA — Forsyth County and the City of Alpharetta have partnered on a marketing initiative they hope will draw the attention of tech companies to the area. Forsyth County commissioners passed a resolution Dec. 7 to seek state legislation naming the 7-mile stretch of Ga. 400 from Haynes Bridge Road in Alpharetta north to Ga. 20 in Forsyth County the Technology Corridor. Forsyth County is home to some 8,000 residents who work in technology. The largest tech employer is Scientific Games, with 1,000 workers, but the county’s resume is growing, especially along Ga. 400. The list includes Forte Data Systems, New Cyber Source, Siemens and close to a dozen others. County Manager Kevin Tanner said the branding initiative was developed in coordination with Forward Forsyth, the county’s economic development partner within the Chamber of Commerce. “Alpharetta, the North Fulton County area, as you know, has been known for quite a few years as a technology hub of the state,” Tanner said. The highway designation, he added, would be another tool in the county’s efforts to draw more technology companies to the area. “It shows the world and people looking to locate their companies here that this is the technology hub of the state and the Southeast,” Tanner said. Slade Gulledge, vice president of Economic Development for the Chamber said the highway designation will draw sharper focus on the region. “We have an unparalleled access to talent in our county,” Gulledge said. “Both within and a short drive from Forsyth County, we have one of the highest concentrations of technology and engineering talent.” Technology companies are a target industry and key to the success of the county’s economic plans, he said. “We are very fortunate to have local government officials who truly understand the importance of economic development,”
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By TIFFANY MORGAN newsroom@appenmedia.com
Gulledge said. Alpharetta has more than 700 technology companies. The city helps support Tech Alpharetta, a nonprofit that mentors young tech startups and fosters tech business growth. Alpharetta officials approved the measure at the Dec. 6 City Council meeting. City Manager Bob Regus said Tanner contacted him last month about the idea. Regus said he spoke to council members Ben Burnett and Donald Mitchell, who agreed the venture would benefit all parties. “We came to the conclusion that we are the Technology City of the South,” Regus said. “We have in our corridor just hundreds and hundreds of technology companies, and we consider ourselves the leader in that.” All of Ga. 400 — from Buckhead to the North Georgia mountains — is known officially as Hospitality Highway. Regus said there would be no conflict in designating a portion of the highway the Technology Corridor with signage. “[It would be] good for economic development,” Regus said.
FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — Forsyth County Commissioner Laura Semanson has called for discussion that would make the commission chair position a countywide office. Speaking at a recent commission meeting, Semanson said residents seek and deserve representation that is inclusive to all areas of the county. Creating a county-wide chair position would eliminate the obligation for a district commissioner to also serve as the chair. The commission chair is currently appointed and voted on by the five district commissioners, an arrangement that has gone on for more than two decades. Semanson said that a countywide seat is not a new idea, and when she was chairwoman in 2019 and 2020 it was a major eye-opener. “It’s a job in and of itself… [it will give] the ability for district commissioners to be able to focus more closely on their localized issues that face their districts,” Semanson said. “It’s better not to have responsi-
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Forsyth County Manager Kevin Tanner is pushing a plan that would allow designating a 7-mile stretch of Ga. 400 the “Technology Corridor.”
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