Long established as one of the largest transportation hubs in the country, Atlanta is known for its international accessibility thanks to the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. However, before the airport came along, the city gained historical significance as the southern end of the Western & Atlantic Railroad. Nowadays, the rail system is still an essential mode of travel and transportation. Operating in the latter sector, Norfolk Southern is expanding its Atlanta presence with a new campus and headquarters in Midtown.
Norfolk Southern Corp. is a Fortune 500 transportation company that moves a variety of goods and materials across 22 states and Washington, D.C. The company operates roughly 19,300 route miles and serves every major container port in the eastern U.S., according to its website. It transports items ranging from agriculture and chemicals to consumer products.
The company sought out Atlanta for its diverse and robust market of tech talent as it aims to use technology to increase efficiency within the rail market. Its new headquarters in Midtown is an effort to recruit new additions to its team, as reported by the Atlanta Business Chronicle. The 750,000-square-foot campus will house 3,000 employees.
Prior to this new campus, Norfolk Southern’s operations and technology leadership was based in Atlanta while the company’s headquarters was in Norfolk, Virginia. The company has had a presence in Georgia since the mid-1840s, according to a release.
“To be a leader in today’s rapidly evolving transportation and logistics market, the company needed to be more agile and work more collaboratively across organizational boundaries,” Annie Adams, executive VP and chief transformation officer, said in a statement. “Our new building brings us together in a central location, which was designed to boost collaboration and innovation.”
Outfitted with three buildings and a range of amenities, Norfolk’s new campus is centered upon its network operations center. This area encompasses space for 200 employees that’ll work during various round-the-clock shifts. Surrounding the main building are the campus’ north and south towers. Norfolk Southern’s IT team will work out of the north tower while all other departments will operate from the south.
The new campus also includes several amenities. The main building boasts a food hall and common dining area, a game room, a fitness center, a pool and two floors of collaborative meeting space.
The buildings, designed by Jon Pickard of Pickard Chilton, are modern in design and made to incorporate plenty of natural light with floor-to-ceiling windows. The campus also combines indoor and outdoor spaces with expansive grassy outdoor plazas.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony opening the new space took place on November 10. Norfolk Southern is currently hiring for dozens of Atlanta-based positions with roles in analytics, graphic design, engineering, finance and more.
