NEW OFFICE WILL LET HEALTH TASK FORCE EXPAND

Nonprofit spends $12M for DeKalb County building.

The Task Force for Global Health, which fights largescale world health problems, is expanding with a new sixstory headquarters in downtown Decatur.

The Task Force, Georgia’s largest nonprofit organization, announced Friday it bought the building on Ponce de Leon Avenue for $12 million from DeKalb County’s government.

The headquarters will help increase metro Atlanta’s visibility as a worldwide hub for health programs. The Task Force partners with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, The Carter Center, Emory University, Georgia Tech, Georgia State University and other local organizations.

“The building not only gives us growth room that we desperately need, but it is a place that allows us to bring the rich assets of global health here in Atlanta together,” said David Ross, president of The Task Force for Global Health. “We serve as the convening point for a number of disease eradication efforts.”

The Task Force’s programs focus on controlling and eliminating tropical diseases, increasing access to vaccines and strengthening health systems. The organization also distributes medicines abroad, including antibiotics donated by drug maker Pfizer to help eliminate blinding trachoma.

About 140 employees initially will move into the new headquarters next year from the Task Force’s current building, located nearby. Eventually, the 90,000-square-foot headquarters will accommodate up to 375 staff members.

“Their growth means hundreds of new high-paying jobs and increased international visibility for the county,” said DeKalb Commissioner Larry Johnson in a written statement. The DeKalb Board of Commissioners approved the sale of the building at 330 West Ponce de Leon Avenue in April. The county will lease space in the building for up to five years. The purchase was made possible through a $10 million gift from the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation and a $2 million gift from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation.