Producer and studio mogul Tyler Perry is making yet another major move in the film industry. Perry has announced that he wants to purchase a massive amount of land on the now closed military base Fort McPherson located in East Point, Georgia, a mostly black area southwest of downtown Atlanta. The 500-acre base called the “Pentagon of the South,” was the location of FORSCOM. The base was closed in 2011 and has been an object of potential real estate development.
Currently, Perry owns Tyler Perry Studios in the nearby Greenbriar neighborhood. His Greenbriar studio has been the hub of Atlanta filmmaking. Major studios have leased production space from Perry because his studio was the best outside of Hollywood. The Ft. McPherson deal has the wholehearted support of Mayor Kasim Reed and other major players in the city. The exact acreage to be purchased has not been revealed but Tyler is expected to spend $30 to $35 million on the land deal.
The impact to the area would be dramatic, giving a boost to small businesses and attracting new business. Perry has been very smart and visionary in his real estate purchases. His most recent purchase was a 1,000 acre plot of land in mostly rural Douglas County, Georgia.
