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Atlanta leaders hope to redevelop GM plant
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ATLANTA (AP) - Several metro Atlanta leaders are meeting with President Obama's so-called "car czar" as they try to move ahead with plans to redevelop an abandoned General Motors plant in Doraville.

Jay Williams, executive director of the Office of Recovery for Auto Communities and Workers, planned to meet Wednesday afternoon with Doraville and DeKalb County leaders to discuss the plans.

The plant is still owned by the Detroit automaker, which is working toward a sale of the property.

"We're continuing to work with the local government officials to set things up so we can sell the property," said Bill Grotz, a General Motors spokesman in Detroit.

Doraville Mayor Donna Pittman says she hopes it can be redeveloped to bring back jobs and add vitality to the area. About 4,000 jobs were lost when the plant closed in 2008. She said a mixed-used development involving Doraville's MARTA station is among the possibilities being explored.

"It is a great, great location," Pittman said. "It's in the center of everything."

DeKalb County is open to exploring all possibilities for the 165-acre site, county spokesman Burke Brennan said. He said local leaders are hoping to explore a possible partnership with the federal government to move plans forward.

"The efforts to get a meaningful redevelopment of the GM site have been going on for years, and this is probably another chapter in that book," Brennan said.