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LAWRENCEVILLE, GA.—Congratulations to Womble Bond Dickinson client OFS Brightwave Solutions! The company has closed a $34.4 million agreement to sell 103 acres of surplus land and buildings to Gwinnett County. OFS will continue to operate its industry-leading fiber optics manufacturing facility on the remaining 67 acres.

Womble Bond Dickinson attorney Joe Foltz has worked with OFS on this project for 13 years, through eight different purchase and sale agreements. Paralegal Linda Martin has been part of the team that entire time, and attorneys Keith Taylor and Ashley Bynoe played key roles in the representation and deal closing.

The site on I-85 at Jimmy Carter Boulevard is considered one of metro Atlanta’s prime real estate locations. Gwinnett County is working to develop a private-public mixed-use community on the site, as well as a possible multi-modal transit station. The location currently is used for feature film productions, and those projects will continue as well.

The agreement originally was announced in May, following 11 months of negotiations.

In a statement, Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners Chairman Charlotte Nash called the purchase “a good deal for our community and a strategic investment in its long-term success…. I am most grateful to OFS for its willingness to work with the County and to all of the parties involved for making this transaction happen.”

Click here to read coverage of the transaction in the Gwinnett Daily Post and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Joe Foltz has been one of the Atlanta market’s leading transactional attorneys for more than three decades. He represents developers, property owners, managers and equity investors in the acquisition, development, leasing, structured financing and management of commercial real estate and operating businesses.  Foltz also practices in the area of corporate finance, secured lending and general corporate law. 

Ashley Bynoe’s practice, which draws on her background in finance, data analytics, and revenue management, focuses on franchise development and commercial real estate transactions. She analyzes legal issues and drafts contracts for commercial real estate clients related to real estate sales and purchases, corporate structuring, commercial finance, local zoning, leasing, and franchise negotiation issues.

About OFS

OFS is a world-leading designer, manufacturer and provider of optical fiber, fiber-optic cable, connectivity, fiber-to-the-subscriber and specialty fiber-optic products. Applications include telecommunications, medicine, industrial automation, sensing, aerospace, defense and energy. Headquartered in Norcross, OFS is a global provider with facilities in China, Denmark, Germany, Russia, Morocco and the United States. OFS is part of Furukawa Electric Company, a multi-billion dollar leader in optical communications.