Atlanta has selected a development team led by Egbert Perry, chairman of Integral Group, to convert a downtown office tower into hundreds of residential units. Mayor Andre Dickens announced the choice on Thursday, with the Invest Atlanta board voting to select Two Peachtree Partners LLC for the 2 Peachtree Street conversion project.
The city purchased the 40-plus story office tower last year for $39 million. Once converted, it will become Atlanta's tallest residential building. The project is expected to include approximately 625 housing units, with 222 designated as affordable units. The bottom five floors will be reserved for public uses, and a 65-unit senior apartment building adjacent to the main tower is also planned.
Perry is recognized for developing the mixed-income housing model in the mid-1990s, known as the "Atlanta model," which replaced aging public housing complexes with economically diverse communities. The development team also includes The Atlantic Companies, T. Dallas Smith & Co., and Lalani Ventures, owner of Underground Atlanta. The city received four development submissions overall.
The project addresses Atlanta's oversupply of vacant office space — metro Atlanta ended 2023 with nearly one-third of office square footage available for rent. Converting 2 Peachtree to residential uses aims to revitalize downtown while increasing affordable housing stock and leveraging proximity to the Five Points MARTA station.
Real estate experts acknowledge that office-to-residential conversions face challenges, including expensive renovations to add bathrooms and kitchens to open floor plans. However, Atlanta has successful precedents: the former SunTrust building at 250 Piedmont is now the Altitude apartment complex, and the W.D. Grant Building on Broad Street is being retrofitted into apartments. The 2 Peachtree project is expected to serve as a proof-of-concept for similar conversions citywide.
Source: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution