The owners of downtown Atlanta’s CNN Center announced Thursday the landmark office building is getting a new name after its former namesake vacated its longtime corporate home.
The longtime home of the country’s first 24-hour news network will lose CNN from its name and become “The Center,” the building’s owner CP Group said in a news release. The decision comes a month after the iconic red-and-white 5,000-pound aluminum CNN logo was removed from the sidewalk spot outside the complex.
Credit: CP Group
Credit: CP Group
Chris Eachus, partner at Florida-based CP Group, said in the release the rebranding aims to preserve a piece of the building’s legacy as an Atlanta landmark and tourist attraction while moving it into a new era without CNN.
“CP Group’s rebranding of the former CNN Center into The Center aims to create a unifying destination for commerce, culture and connection,” Eachus said. “Our vision includes curating an unparalleled selection of dynamic users, dining and retail experiences, entertainment offerings, and elevated lifestyle amenities — all of which will be carefully crafted to draw the community into the heart of the city.”
Rebranding doesn’t always stick in the public lexicon. People still refer to Chicago’s Willis Tower as Sears Tower. Atlantans occasionally slip up and call Truist Plaza and Truist Park by the former bank name, SunTrust.
CNN wasn’t the original name of The Center. It was originally the Omni Complex, developed by famed Atlanta real estate giant Tom Cousins. It contained the Omni Coliseum arena that formerly housed the Hawks and Flames, the Omni hotel, office space, a huge atrium and ice skating rink. The short-lived theme park, the World of Sid and Marty Krofft, famous for the 1960s children’s TV show ‘‘H.R. Pufnstuf,” occupied a portion of the campus.
But the office space was largely empty until CNN opened its headquarters there in 1987.
CNN announced in January 2023 that it would move its Atlanta operations entirely to a new 30-acre Turner Techwood campus in Midtown, not far from where the network was founded. CNN Center had already slowly been hollowed out over the years since CNN effectively moved its headquarters to New York in 2019.
CP Group and another Florida-based real estate firm Rialto Capital Management acquired the office and retail campus in 2021 for $164 million. About 1.1 million square feet of office space within The Center is available for lease. CBRE is handling office leasing efforts, while Healey Weatherholtz Properties is in charge of retail leasing.
“We are already engaged with several new-to-market retail concepts to join the repositioning of this legendary building,” said Coleman Weatherholtz of Healey Weatherholtz Properties.
Credit: CP Group
Credit: CP Group
The complex is located within walking distance to other landmarks such as the Georgia World Congress Center, Centennial Olympic Park, the Georgia Aquarium, the World of Coca-Cola and the College Football Hall of Fame.
With the Center sharing a roof and multiple connections to State Farm Arena, Hawks lead owner Antony Ressler recently told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution he plans to cheerlead the new owners’ future plans.
“It’s our job to be supportive of whatever they’re trying to build,” he said. “I’m looking for a successful building that helps downtown.”
CP Group has floated multiple visions, including converting part of the building into several hundred apartments. But recruiting new office tenants has been a focus in recent months, with nearly 500,000 square feet of workspace advertised in an online marketing brochure.
The rebrand comes amid tough times for metro Atlanta’s office market, which is still grappling with changes ushered in by the COVID-19 pandemic. Hybrid work schedules, an abundance of vacant space and a tough refinancing market have forced both landlords and employers to adjust to a post-pandemic work environment.
Nicole Goldsmith, senior vice president with CBRE in Atlanta, said she believes The Center’s location gives it an advantage.
“As companies continue to prioritize highly amenitized, well-located office space to attract and retain talent, they would be hard-pressed to find a more perfect fit than The Center,” she said.
Credit: Alyssa Pointer/Alyssa.Pointer@ajc.com
Credit: Alyssa Pointer/Alyssa.Pointer@ajc.com
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct the location of CNN’s founding. CNN was founded in Midtown Atlanta before moving downtown. The network called CNN Center its home for many years.
