GreyStone HQ To House Douglas County School System Offices

DOUGLASVILLE, GA — The Douglas County School System announced plans Monday to move into GreyStone Power’s former headquarters on Veterans Memorial Highway, allowing the district to house all employees under the same roof.

The Douglas County Board of Education voted Monday night to purchase GreyStone’s old headquarters, according to The Douglas County Sentinel — and the price is a bargain.

The cost of a new building with land would have cost about $35 million, Superintendent Trent North told the Douglasville paper. The cost of the GreyStone building, on the other hand, is only $12.5 million, which North said is $1 million less than it was appraised for.

“This is a win-win for GreyStone, the school system and the community,” North said in a statement released Tuesday. “The current central office on Hwy. 5 has served the school system well for many years, but we need to bring our departments together under one roof and provide a healthy work environment for our employees. Purchasing the GreyStone building helps us and helps the community by keeping a landmark building in Douglasville occupied and maintained."

GreyStone plans to move into its new facility, under construction on Highway 92 in Paulding County, in 2021. Once GreyStone has moved, Douglasville architect Terry Miller will oversee renovations in its former headquarters, including the design of a boardroom and professional learning spaces.

About 150 employees— roughly 75 percent of the district’ workforce — are stationed at the current headquarters on Highway 5, a converted manufacturing and warehouse facility not originally designed to house offices. Only eight offices in the building have windows, and heating and air conditioning has been a problem ever since the district moved in during the 1980s.

Still, that space won’t be wasted once district employees move out. The district already plans to build on that site a venue large enough to host graduation ceremonies in Douglas County.

“It will be an ideal location,” said assistant superintendent of district operations Kwame Carr. “It is near I-20 and has access from Hwy. 5 and Hwy. 78. The school system already owns the 18 acres, so we can begin construction as soon as our plans are ready.”

The Douglas County School system is the largest employer in the county, with 3,300 full-time employees. With an enrollment of 26,000 students, the Douglas County School System is the 17th largest school district in Georgia.