Very secure, strange building in GA

Did not know where to post this, so this will do for me. I have noticed a very strange biulding across the street from where I work. (Alpharetta, GA) It is situated between a home supply store, and an auto dealership. The building has no signs, no address, surrounded by razor wire, with a gate. Non-descript white trucks pull up to the gate, dial in, and are allowed to enter using a code. Armed guards are also present at this location, but not at all times. The trucks do not go to loading ramps outside the building. Instead, they pull inside to load/unload. The trucks are unmarked. Here is a link to the building from google Building with no address...
I wouldn't think much of this, if the building at least had an address. It could be nothing, but no name, razor wire, guards, etc? Also notice to the rear of the property, there is a hole in the ground. Possibly a concrete tunnel or vent of some sort. I think I'm gonna snoop around with a camera at lunch sometime this week. If I see anything, I'll post it. I'll also try to figure out what's up with the trucks if I can get get a good view of the plates. There just seems to be a lot of secrecy surrounding this place. As to the location? The best place to hide is in a crowd.

Yikes, be careful. Could be some kind of chop shop or something, if they catch you taking pictures and stuff, it could mean trouble. I am anxious to see what comes up though, good luck!

First guess-some kind of detention center. Second guess-defense research; I think there's a lot of that sort of thing going on in the Greater Atlanta area. Also, could you tell us what the address SHOULD be, given the addresses of the building's neighbors?

The building is on the 1500 block of Mansell Rd. The address here is 1551 Mansell Rd., but this buiding is at the end of Duke Dr. I wonder what I might be able to see from the neighborhood court at the bottom edge of this picture. I'm familiar with the locations of detention centers in this county. This doesn't seem to be one, unless it is military detention. I'm leaning more towards the research side of things, considering Lockheed has a facility in Marietta.

Google Earth says it's at the end of Duke Dr. OFF OF Mansell Rd. in between a HUGE car dealership and, what looks like, a Lowe's. You can see the fence in GE. I wonder, can you go to the back of the facility VIA Liberty Terrace? Get some pics. Any signage on the fencing warning people off, I think, would be helpful.
I'm intrigued with this. It's an oddity.

Cuhail

Google Earth says it's at the end of Duke Dr. OFF OF Mansell Rd. in between a HUGE car dealership and, what looks like, a Lowe's.

Yeah, that's what I stated a minute ago. I didn't want to do product placement. It is between a Lowes and a Ford dealer. See my last statement. I know it's not on Mansell, but I am on Mansell right accross from Duke Dr. The place where I work is where the dirt lot is shown to the NW corner of the Ford dealer. Our building has been here for 3 and a half years now, so this picture from Google is dated. If I see any signs, I will post a picture. I don't have my digital camera with me today, but I'll try to get something tomorrow. Even if it's nothing, the hunt is fun.

Cuhail's right about the Lowe's. It's at 10580 Duke Drive.

Directly across the street @ 10540 Duke Drive is COX Communications.

The address for the building you're talking about would seem to be 10500 Duke, but I can't find any reference to What that location might be. I'm getting business addresses for most every other street number on Duke, just not that one. 10500 Duke Drive

Wow this really is strange and puzzling.

This might sound silly but are you on good terms with your postman/woman?

Maybe you could ask him/her next time you get some mail if they
know what the building is or at least it's proper adress.
Just an idea.

I noticed this when road-testing a vehicle. That's what bugs me about it. There is no address. I never said it was on Mansell. That was just used as a reference point for me to find the location on google. The entrance point to Duke Dr. is located in the 1500 block of Mansell. Is that a little better?

[edit on 6/20/2007 by venom79x]

It might be For Sale as well. l wonder if it's any local Realty listings. Hmmmm.

Venom79x- Yeah, I was being redundant. I scan GE a lot, so I tend to note certain facts and all the stuff that's NOT strange first. My bad.


Cuhail

No big deal, I do the same thing, but usually in my head. Also, I never really see the postal workers at my place of employment. For all I know, it could be storage for high-end electronics. Keep your eyes on this post, and I'll try to have some answers for you all within the next week.

[edit on 6/20/2007 by venom79x]

Whatever it is, that place is Loaded with air conditioning/refrigeration/cooling units. Loaded.

For more detailed aerial views try using local.live.com... .

The address is 10500 Duke Drive Alpharetta, GA

bird's eye from 75 feet up

Could be a secure data center for the government. We have done emergency power systems for several data centers around the Atlanta area, and all over the country. There looks like six containerized generators at the front with each set of 3 feeding a seperate outdoor switchgear. I also see two utility transformers so they have dual utility feeds for added redundancy. I'll look this up and see if we have any installations around that address.

Looks like a hosting facility. See the generators on the north side and AC units on the roof? There is fiber in the ground all over the place, I've seen that being installed for months near the area. I pass duke every day on the way to the highway.

City hall of Alpharetta will probably tell you what it is.


/.02

tim in GA,

That would seem likely, especially looking at the configuration and large number of the rooftop a/c units. With only the one loading dock, it certainly wouldn't appear to be any type of cold storage facility.

* wonder how many trunks that's tapped into *

Computer systems....makes perfect sense. Probably networking for Cox or the gov't. Thanks for that idea. I'm still gonna look around because, why not? As long as I don't go over the fence, I'm not tresspassing. Also, cool to see a fellow ATSer here in Alpharetta!

[edit on 6/20/2007 by venom79x]

First off, hello neighbor.

Second off, I think you're looking at the Herman Miller warehouse, a furniture retailer distribution center that the company owns.

I have access to commercial real estate databases, and that's what comes up as a massive white warehouse along Mansell Road in the 1000 area.

Please keep us posted on what you find out. I don't get down to Mansell Road very much - I work up on McFarland. But I will swing by there the next time I'm in the area.

Originally posted by behindthescenes
First off, hello neighbor.

Second off, I think you're looking at the Herman Miller warehouse, a furniture retailer distribution center that the company owns.

I have access to commercial real estate databases, and that's what comes up as a massive white warehouse along Mansell Road in the 1000 area.

Or as someone else alluded to, it's more likely the COX Communications Data Center at 10540 Duke Drive.

From database:

building notes

August 2004: Cox Communications purchased this building from the Development Authority of Fulton County. CBRE representated the buyer and NAI/Brannen Goddard represented the seller.

Future - Phase 2Building B106,042 SF
(Not Included in this Permit)
Phase 2Enclosed

Data Center Features:

* 25 KV, 16,000 KW Electrical Power
* 32,000-Amp Plant Capacity
* Six, 2,000-KW Generators (30-Hour Run Time)
* Two, 12,000-Gallon Fuel Storage Tanks
* Six, 1,400-Gallon Belly Tanks
* Johnson Controls Inc. Alarm System
* Fenwall Fire Alarm with Preaction Fire Control &
* Smoke Alarm Sensors Under Floor & Overhead
* 24, Six-Inch Fiber Conduits
* 80,188 Square Feet of Raised Flooring
* Diverse Power & Fiber Entrances



building representative

Cox Communications, Inc.
1400 Lake Hearn Dr NE
Atlanta, GA 30319
(404) 843-5000 Jimmy W. Hayes
CFO
(404) 843-5000 phone

It's not on Mansell Rd.

Try checking for 10500 Duke Drive or anything below 10520.

Also, have a look at it using local.live.com... via the brid's eye feature.

The address is 10500 Duke Drive Alpharetta, GA

That is certainly not a furniture distribution/storage warehouse ... not by a long shot.