Most buildings within Atlanta icon Peachtree Center listed for sale
The past few years have not been easy for one of downtown Atlanta’s most recognizable office complexes.
Comprised of six distinctive towers and a retail center, Peachtree Center in 2022 became the city’s largest foreclosure since the aftermath of the Great Recession. The complex’s distress and dwindling occupancy were viewed as warning signals for how the COVID-19 pandemic’s upheaval of workplace norms could affect Atlanta’s older buildings.
The Peachtree Center towers and mall are now being listed for sale, a 2.5 million square-foot-offering that aims to reposition the iconic buildings to thrive in a post-pandemic world.
Marketing materials by real estate services firm JLL, which represents Peachtree Center’s seller, tout the complex as a “quintessential piece of Atlanta” and a “city within a city.” The high-profile buildings are valued at roughly $121 million, a stark decline from the complex’s heyday.
“Peachtree Center presents a unique opportunity to acquire an urban infill Atlanta project of scale at a highly attractive (cost) basis, flexible business plan and significant value creation potential,” reads the marketing brochure, which was obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The three hotels at Peachtree Center are not part of the sales listing. Neither is the nearby office space within the 230 Peachtree building, which was listed for sale in April at $14 million.
The buildings for sale include the Marquis I and Marquis II towers in addition to the high-rises at 225, 229, 233 and 235 Peachtree Street. The Hub at Peachtree Center, a three-story mall with dozens of restaurants, is also for sale. The buildings can be sold as one portfolio or as individual assets.
The portfolio’s listing was first reported by the Atlanta Business Chronicle.
Peachtree Center is among the crown jewel projects designed and built by famed Atlanta architect and developer John Portman. Recognizable for its postmodern design and sky bridges, it has been a cornerstone of downtown’s office market for decades.
Miami-based Banyan Street Capital lost control of the properties in September 2022 after defaulting on more than $125 million in debt. The buildings were returned to New York-based lender SitusAMC via a foreclosure, which real estate experts saw as a sign of more widespread office distress to come.
Since then, the only larger commercial real estate foreclosure in Atlanta was Buckhead’s Piedmont Center earlier this year.
JLL was hired by special servicer Torchlight Loan Services and advisor CP Group to sell the Peachtree Center buildings. The buildings occupancies range from 8% to 74%. The ones with lower occupancy present potential opportunities to repurpose the underused towers for different uses.
Converting aging office towers into residences has garnered attention since the pandemic left many business districts flooded with unwanted office space. Those projects, however, are expensive and complicated, especially for high-rises built in the 1960s like many of Peachtree Center’s towers.
Ownership recently invested about $25 million in renovations at Peachtree Center, according to the marketing materials. JLL investment advisors Richard Reid and Huston Green are the listed brokers for the buildings.
About the Author
Zachary Hansen, a Georgia native, covers economic development and commercial real estate for the AJC. He's been with the newspaper since 2018 and enjoys diving into complex stories that affect people's lives.
