Nearly everyone in Atlanta has a memory of CNN Center. Maybe it was ducking inside its food court on a sweltering summer day to enjoy some air conditioning. Perhaps it was a school field trip to gawk at CNN's studios. There also are the tens of thousands who worked there over the decades — not to mention the millions of CNN viewers who saw the brutalist compound as an Atlanta calling card.
But after CNN's departure left its office towers empty and its retailers hanging on by a thread, its next chapter was unclear. Now the property's future is starting to come into focus as CP Group embraces its role as the epicenter of a fast-changing downtown Atlanta. By rebranding as "The Center" (stylized as "The CTR"), the development team is trying to revive the complex into a bustling downtown hub.
The Center's revamped food hall and atrium will open to the public June 12, just days before Atlanta hosts its first World Cup matches. CP Group also unveiled plans to convert two of the complex's office towers into new uses — specifically a hotel and an apartment building. The entire project will cost an estimated $425 million, and nearly half of that investment has already taken place to prepare the atrium's food hall and four entrances for debut.
The atrium is being rebuilt to support 11 food and beverage options ranging from Italian and Latin eateries to chef-driven dining concepts, including one by Michelin-recognized chef Joey Ward. Central to the atrium is what CP Group calls "the largest bar in Atlanta," with more than 60 seats and total seating for more than 500. FIFA is also leasing 30,000 square feet in The Center for a World Cup exhibition, and the complex will serve as the World Cup's Atlanta Volunteer Headquarters for the summer.
The biggest departure from CNN Center's historic purpose is the plan to massively shrink the property's office footprint. CNN Center in its heyday had 2.2 million square feet of office space; CP Group plans to shrink that to about 350,000 square feet. The remaining offices will be transformed into an extended-stay-influenced hotel of about 200 rooms and approximately 200 apartments, the latter requiring city of Atlanta incentives to make financially viable.
Source: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution