The building formerly known as CNN Center is about to start putting other people's names in lights.
CP Group has partnered with local arts and culture consultancy ASHA Advisory to launch CTR Culture at The Center, the ongoing remake of the downtown landmark. The program treats the property's visibility as a civic asset rather than only an advertising one.
What is being offered
A limited number of Media Placement Grants provide free exposure on The Center's new digital signage at the building's main entryways, which project officials say will reach thousands of visitors daily.
The screens are not small. Chris Eachus, a CP Group founding partner, said they are among the largest in the Southeast. Neda Abghari, ASHA Advisory principal and lead curator, told Urbanize Atlanta that three monumental structures are being added to the building's facade, with an impact on both the building and the surrounding streetscape.
Who it is for
The grant program is aimed at what organizers describe as changemakers, creatives and mission-driven organizations shaping Atlanta's cultural landscape, at a moment of rising costs and shrinking resources for exactly those groups.
The timing is deliberate. The Center is being positioned as a primary activity hub during Atlanta's month of 2026 FIFA World Cup matches, and it already absorbs convention traffic year-round.
Why it matters for the conversion
The Center's redevelopment has largely been discussed in terms of square footage and tenant mix. Programming its most visible surfaces with local arts and nonprofit work is a different kind of move, and a cheap one relative to the building's overall renovation budget.
For a property that spent decades as a global news brand's headquarters and then emptied out, being rebuilt as a platform for Atlanta storytelling rather than a national one is a reasonable second act.
Original reporting by Josh Green for Urbanize Atlanta, published June 2025.