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November 30, 2008
ALPHARETTA – The economy may be ailing for some, but Jackson Healthcare continues its growth. Founder and company visionary Richard L. Jackson invited Alpharetta officials and Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce representatives to share in the ribbon cutting for the company's new headquarters last month. Jackson created his vision of the building and set his son, R. Shane Jackson, to making a reality – just like many of the projects they share.
"A long time ago I was called a visionary," the elder Jackson said.
He said he came up with the right idea with companies such as LocumTenens.com, which provides temporary physicians in high-demand specialties to U.S. healthcare organizations.
"I used to believe that was the most important thing. But making the things that were my vision a reality" was more important, he said.
After thanking them for making it all possible, he joked with the hundreds of staff filling the atrium and walksways above it about coming up with the vision.
"Son, I had the vision – now all you have to do is go to make it happen," he said.
Just 13 years ago Jackson Healthcare got its start with the formation of Surgical Information Systems and LocumTenens.com. Now the family owned company has cut the ribbon on its 125,600 square feet corporate headquarters in Deerfield Place.
When the company left behind its 58,500 square feet of space at its old Mansell Road location, its office space grew by 115 percent, and many companies had been added along the way.
Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce President Brandon Beach said chamber officials love attending ribbon cuttings.
"This isn't just about brick and mortar," Beach said.
Employees add to the area not just with taxes, but as volunteers in the community.
With health care the company's bread and butter, it may not be a surprise that a fitness center was included, called The Coliseum and furnished with all of the latest equipment and even a racquetball court with a movable front wall so exercise classes can use the space. But the restaurant run by Aramark, complete with catering and a Starbucks, plus the "Time Out" game center are more unusual. The company devoted 12,000 square feet of space solely to amenities for its associates, who the Jacksons consider part of their extended family.
The new building even has another 35,000 square feet of vacant space for future expansions – an entire floor of the five story building. A large atrium separates two sides of the building, with walkways stretching across the space. Glass walled elevators give passengers a complete view of the atrium.
The Jackson took more than a year to find a suitable site, which began almost two years before groundbreaking. Design took less than six months, and construction another 14 months.
The 600 tradesmen – including 300 working at the same time during peak of construction – put 780 tons of structural steel in the building's frame and 8,500 tons of concrete for foundations, slabs and exterior walls. More than 55 miles of Category 6 data cabling were strung in the building, and almost twice that much of electrical wiring.
Shane Jackson designed most of the building, with the exception of his father's office. During a tour of the building last month, he said picking out the 97 pieces of original artwork by Georgia artists was particularly rewarding. The younger Jackson has spent little time in the office he designed for himself – complete with a view of downtown Atlanta when the weather is clear – because he accepted the company board of directors' request to take the reins of its LocumTenens.com subsidiary. Instead he was moving downstairs to be with that company's staff.
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