The Metro Atlanta Chamber plans to move from its longtime home at Centennial Olympic Park to downtown’s 191 Peachtree tower.
The chamber of commerce said Thursday it plans to move into the landmark skyscraper by December after recently selling its building on Marietta Street to the Georgia World Congress Center Authority. The state plans to raze the building and use the land as part of an overhaul and expansion of the park.
The chamber had been considering a new downtown site for more than a year.
Chamber CEO Hala Moddelmog called the relocation “a bit bittersweet,” but said the chamber was committed to staying downtown and wanted to be in a landmark building. The 50-story tower is the fourth-tallest in Atlanta.
The current chamber building holds a prominent corner adjoining the park, which has become a center of gravity for downtown’s revitalization into a tourist hub including the new Falcons stadium, the Georgia Aquarium and World of Coca-Cola. The Hawks are pursuing a makeover of Philips Arena and considering development of an entertainment district around the arena.
Last week, Turner Broadcasting announced it plans a makeover of CNN Center.
“We all have great expectations for what’s going on with Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Philips Arena and the Hawks,” Moddelmog said.
At the 191 tower, the chamber will occupy the 34th floor in a space about 60 percent the size of its current building, with a more open format and lots of meeting spaces.
“Will be using a lot of technology and experiential touches to make sure that visitors to our floor will get a sense of Atlanta’s history and Atlanta’s ascendency and where we are headed,” Moddelmog said.
Under Moddelmog, the chamber has started a branding and young professional recruiting campaign called ChooseATL. That campaign will be evident at the new office through prominent stats and images or videos that highlight the region’s diverse communities and calling cards.
Transit access for the chamber’s more than 75 employees and its members also was critical, Moddelmog said, and the building also sits atop the Peachtree Center MARTA station.
The ornate tower was developed by a joint venture of Atlanta-based Cousins Properties and Houston-based Hines and opened in 1991. Today the tower is home to Cousins, a major office for accounting firm Deloitte, the Commerce Club and influential nonprofits including the Woodruff Foundation and the Community Foundation of Greater Atlanta.
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