Jim Jacoby

James F. "Jim" Jacoby is an American businessman based out of Atlanta, Georgia. Jacoby is the founder, CEO and chairman of The Jacoby Group, Inc., a synergistic group of operating companies headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The nationally recognized Jacoby Development, Inc., a land development company that specializes multi-use properties in environmentally sensitive areas and reclamation of brownfields, is a member of the group.

Early life Jacoby was born in 1943 in Miami, Florida, the fourth and youngest child of Phebe and Dewey Jacoby. From an early age, he showed interest in all facets of math and business and was the most entrepreneurial of his siblings. After high school he served from 1961 to 1969 in intelligence with the Naval Security Group, during which he was stationed in the Philippines, Germany and the United States. After serving in the military, he attended Miami-Dade Community College and subsequently moved to Atlanta, Georgia.

Career Jacoby was a leasing agent of retail and industrial buildings for six years. The Savings and loan crisis prompted Jacoby to launch his entrepreneurial career in real estate scouting and assembling sites for developing and redeveloping various projects. He helped create downtown development authorities and used tax-free bonds to finance retail projects. The company soon progressed to developing stores and strip malls.

Atlantic Station In 1997, Jacoby contracted the site of the former Atlantic Steel mill in Atlanta, Georgia in partnership with AIG and in 1999 they collectively built the $2 billion Atlantic Station, Originally built in 1938 to film underwater scenes and movies, Marineland morphed into a Florida tourist attraction featuring aquatic life exhibits and dolphin shows. After it was damaged by Hurricane Irene (1999), Jacoby acquired the dolphin attraction as well as related real estate and redeveloped the entire park to a modern dolphin facility focused on education and animal/human interaction and formed an operating partnership with the Georgia Aquarium. Marineland reopened in 2006 with new programs and experiences available to the public. On New Year's Day, 2011, Jacoby sold Marineland to the Georgia Aquarium.

Aerotropolis Atlanta Assembly, a decommissioned Ford Taurus automobile plant in Hapeville, Georgia adjacent to the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, was acquired by Jacoby in 2008. The plant was demolished and the site remediated, and re-christened Aerotropolis Atlanta. The site has been subdivided, and portions have been sold to buyers, including Porsche and the Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. On November 27, 2012, Porsche broke ground for construction of its new North American Headquarters and driving experience center, located at One Porsche Drive, which will be anchor of the redevelopment.

Whitemarsh In 1999, Jacoby acquired a former asphalt production site in Whitemarsh, Maryland. The redevelopment of the site, which included clean-up of contaminated groundwater and soils has become one of the largest brownfield redevelopments in the state of Maryland. The site is now home to a General Motors Baltimore Transmission plant with 430 jobs, a Federal Express regional distribution center, hotel, bank and building materials supplier.

In 2009 Jacoby acquired the Norfolk, Virginia Ford Plant which is envisioned to become a manufacturing and logistics park due to its accessibility from rail, highways and sea. A portion of this was sold to Katoen Natie, a global logistics provider, bringing an estimated 425 jobs to the Norfolk area.

Live Oak The Live Oak Landfill, owned by Waste Management in Atlanta, was closed in December 2004, but processed over 1.2 million tons of waste annually during its 19 years in operation. In October 2007 Jacoby Energy Development was selected to develop a $30 million "Landfill-gas-to-pipeline quality" system, one of just two in the state. Production was expected to generate enough gas to supply 30,000 homes. The process involves collecting the landfill exhaust gases, sending the gases via pipeline to the Conley, Georgia landfill gas processing facility where up to 1,500 MWh of biomethane is generated daily before it is injected into Atlanta Gas Light pipelines to be used as a feedstock for renewable hydrogen, renewable compressed or liquefied natural gas or to generate renewable electricity.

Media The Atlanta Media Campus (AMC) project was formed in 2013 as a media production facility in suburban Atlanta.

Cumberland The Gilman Paper Mill opened during 1941 in St. Marys, Georgia in Camden County, Georgia. For more than two decades it employed half of the town's residents and fueled the economy. By the end of the 20th century, ownership had changed twice, finally to Mexico's Durango Products. The plant was closed in 2002 The Cumberland Inlet development project involved clearing and remediating the paper mill site, then building an ecotourism base camp on the waterfront with a hotel and marina, RV park, commercial spaces and home rentals. In early 2026 CCJDA announced that they have recovered ownership of the property.

Personal life Jacoby lives in Atlanta. He and his wife, Jan were married in 1976 and are parents of two adult children. In younger years Jacoby sailed boats; he enjoys SCUBA diving and is an experienced diver who has cataloged dives in Galapagos, Great Barrier Reef, Tahiti and multiple Caribbean sites. He also enjoys fishing, is interested in the marine environment and how underwater species can help in medical research of a multitude of diseases. His daughter had special needs, so he served on the Epilepsy Foundation board.

Jacoby's motor yacht was named in honor of his mother, Phoebe. Miss Phoebe II was the first boat to participate in the "Scientific Vessel of Opportunity Program", created by the International SeaKeepers Society. Yachts are the platform to allow scientists to perform valuable research around the globe. The vessel's first expedition was to Dry Tortugas and the next was to the Bahamas at Tiger Beach.

Memberships of professional bodies Jacoby has stayed involved with the International Council of Shopping Centers. He also sits on the board of the Georgia Aquarium, Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation, Savannah College of Art and Design, and the Hawaii Health Foundation. He formerly served 10 years as a board member of the University of Floridas Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience.

Awards Best in Atlanta Real Estate Awards Deal of the Year (2012). International Seakeepers Society Award (2012). Wall Street Journal's Television Enterprise (2010). Deal of the Year “Land” (2010). Deal of the Decade “Best Overall” (2010). Lindbergh Corporate Award for Balance (2008). Georgia Trends Most Influential Georgians (2006). Deal of the Year “Visionary” (2008). Deal of the Year “Land” (2008). Best Parking Structures (2008). Georgia Trends Most Influential Georgians (2006). Georgia Conservancy Distinguished Conservationist of the Year (2006). Atlanta Leadership Trip (2006). American Council of Engineering Companies of Georgia Honor Award (2006). State Award Engineers Week 2005 Engineering Excellence (2005). Georgia State University Hall of Distinction (2005). EPA Phoenix Award Grand Prize (2004). Argon Award (2004). EPA Southeast Environmental Merit Award (2000).