Rowen area primed as center for Georgia future

Originally published in James Magazine.

Flying still somewhat under the radar, Rowen is a 2,000-acre planned community designed to take advantage of the tremendous resources and innovation opportunities between metro Atlanta and Athens. Located on 316 in Gwinnett County, Rowen is within an hour’s drive of more than 50 research and higher education institutions, dedicated to supporting people, ideas and innovation and bringing this together. Think something like the Research Triangle in North Carolina. 

A new study from the UGA Carl Vinson Institute of Government shows just how much potential there is for Rowen and the surrounding 11-county region. Among the biggest findings are that more than 40 percent of Georgia’s population growth over the next 25 years is expected to settle in the region. More than 1 million new residents are likely to call the area home – the region includes Fulton County, as well as Gwinnett, DeKalb and Forsyth, no strangers to strong growth. Relative newcomers to the strong growth boom though are some of the Athens-Clarke adjacent counties – try to buy a home right now in Oconee County for instance. The 316 corridor is already booming and that is expected to continue. More than 24,000 people are moving into the region every year (looking at apartment construction around Atlanta, this seems like an undercount).

“The Rowen Region is already a vibrant hub of knowledge, talent and opportunity,” said Rowen President and CEO Mason Ailstock. “With help from the Carl Vinson Institute, we’ve found clear evidence that the region’s population growth, workforce pipeline and educational institutions will take the area to the next level as a global research, innovation and investment destination.” 

Ailstock is a former chief operating officer at the Research Triangle Park Foundation, bringing in an expertise for this type of development that is perhaps singularly unique. Ailstock knows whereof he speaks on the workforce pipeline. Indeed, degree completions at institutions in the region – which includes Georgia Tech and UGA, averaging over 50,000 graduates per year and increase of more than 5,000 per year since 2020, with much of the growth coming in the STEM, business and healthcare fields. And if you were to pull an 11 county list out of Georgia’s 159, it might be the most educated of the bunch with almost 70 percent of people having some post-high school education. 

The UGA Institute of Government study also looked at industry breakdowns for employment, with a wide lead by Educational Services, Health Care, or Social Assistance, with more than 370,000 total workers in this industry. Another 325,000 are in Professional, Scientific and Management, Administration, or Waste Management before a big drop down to 199,000 in retail. 

“Our community is intentionally designed to support more than 22 million square feet of low, medium and mixed-use density development, creating a collaborative environment where R&D, production and the commercialization of groundbreaking innovations can thrive,” said Ailstock. 

To read the full report from the UGA Institute of Government: 

https://rowenlife.com/wp-content/uploads/Rowen-Region-Final-Report-4_4_25.pdf