Tyler Perry and Bishop T.D. Jakes made some powerful real estate moves this week as the two received the green light from Atlanta officials on Thursday, June 17, to purchase over 130 acres in the city through two separate deals.
Perry will buy about 40 acres at Fort McPherson, an old U.S. army base where he plans to develop an entertainment and shopping district with theaters, retail shops and restaurants. Jakes’ deal will see him purchasing the remaining 95 acres where he plans to pursue his own development project in affordable and workforce housing.
The Fort McPherson Implementing Local Redevelopment Authority approved the deals and now all available property at the 488-acre former military base, which closed in 2011, are now sold or under contract. The price of the land however wasn’t revealed.
“Today is a good day. I’m grateful for the opportunity this gives Tyler Perry Studios to extend our footprint in Atlanta and create more opportunities for the people of Southwest Atlanta with restaurants, entertainment venues, and other business opportunities. I’m looking forward to collaborating with my friend T.D. Jakes on his separate, but adjacent project, and I also want to thank Governor Kemp and Mayor Bottoms for their continued efforts to make Atlanta a better place,” Perry told “Deadline” in a statement.
Perry previously purchased 330 acres of the land where his Tyler Perry Studios now stands. Tyler Perry Studios is surrounded by more than 220 acres of greenspaces, has 12 sound stages, and 21 movie sets on site. The new land is adjacent to his current property.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp called the joint announcements “a real shot in the arm for an important community within the state of Georgia. Significant job creation, such as this will, create more opportunities for hardworking Georgians and surrounding small businesses, which are the real backbone of our state’s economy,” Kemp added in the statement.
