Health care technology company Athenahealth plans to expand its operations at Ponce City Market in a move that will nearly double its workforce in Atlanta.
In a news release Wednesday from Gov. Nathan Deal’s office, the company said it would grow to about 1,000 workers at the hulking former Sears Roebuck & Co. complex along the Beltline by 2018. The company was one on the initial corporate tenants in the complex, which has become a bustling hive of tech companies and high end stores, and helped stimulate development along the Beltline’s Eastside trail.
In 2013, the Massachusetts-based company announced plans to move the bulk of its operations from Alpharetta to the new Ponce City Market development. At the time, Athenahealth said it would shift about 140 existing metro Atlanta workers intown and add more than 500 new employees.
Strategic sites in key urban markets across the country—such as Atlanta—open up possibilities, helps us attract exciting new talent and resources, and affords us opportunities to host more prospects and clients,” Todd Haedrich, Athenahealth vice president and general manager of small groups, said ini the release.
Health care information technology is one of Georgia’s strongest industries, and Athenahealth is one of the region’s biggest players. Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed said the firm’s decision “cements Atlanta’s status as the center of health care IT in the U.S.”
Athenahealth produces patient medical record software and other software services for hospitals and medical practices. The company expects to grow its footprint within the complex by additional 40,000 square feet from its current 98,000 square feet.
“In June 2013, we announced that Athenahealth would be expanding its presence in Georgia, creating 500 new jobs and in a little over three years we are announcing that they are doubling their workforce in Georgia,” state Department of Economic Development Commissioner Pat Wilson said in a news release. “We couldn’t be more proud of this announcement as it is a true reflection of the burgeoning health information technology industry which continues to choose Georgia as its primary destination for major employment centers and headquarters operations.”
More as this story develops…
Related stories
Metro Atlanta’s hot projects and trends for 2017
Alpharetta’s Avalon building on success
Ponce City Market named to National Register of Historic Places
About the Author
