6 Highly Anticipated Atlanta Office Projects Delivering In 2020

From healthcare technology to insurance to coworking, high-profile tenants are set to take their seats inside sparkling new offices around Metro Atlanta this year in brand-new developments.

The projects set to deliver in 2020 are part of the 9.7M SF of new office that was developed or launched since the start of the last decade, but demand is still in developers' favor. Between 2010 and 2019, Atlanta companies absorbed more than 11M SF, according to Newmark Knight Frank.

The main beneficiary of that demand has been Class-A office owners and new office developments as companies strive for the newest space in their efforts to lure and retain talent, with Midtown the focal point of the activity.

In the six developments featured below, 64% of the available space is already leased, according to data provided by Transwestern. By the end of the year, Atlanta is expected to be home to 21 new office buildings totaling 2.7M SF, including seven buildings in Midtown alone, according to NKF. Here are the six biggest:

State Farm at Park Center, Phase II

Developer: KDC 
Location: Central Perimeter 
Size: 670K SF 
Delivery: January

State Farm's transit-oriented development is now reaching its second phase with the insurance giant's second office delivery in the Park Center campus. State Farm named Atlanta one of its three regions in the U.S. for consolidated office hubs directly connected to mass transit.

In this case, State Farm enlisted KDC to develop its planned, three-tower project atop MARTA's Dunwoody station to give its thousands of employees more options to get to work. In 2017, KDC delivered the first 602K SF building, housing more than 2,000 State Farm employees. The newest tower will house 2,900 employees, KDC Senior Vice President Alex Chambers said.

The third tower is already underway, but it won't deliver until next year. The total project will encompass more than 1.7M SF.

State Farm's theory that if they provide the transit, the employees will use it, has yet to pan out. As Bisnow reported last year, ridership at the Dunwoody station actually dropped after the opening of the campus' first phase.

Atlantic Yards

Developer: Hines 
Location: Midtown 
Size: 523,500 SF 
Delivery: December

Hines launched the two-building Atlantic Yards project early last year, building speculatively without any companies pre-leasing space in the finished product.

This is not the only time Hines took this gamble at Atlantic Station — the mini-city on the westside of Atlanta. Hines also delivered T3 West Midtown, a distinctive, timber-framed office building, on spec. That building is still looking for its first tenant.

Atlantic Yards' two upcoming buildings will have a distinctive design to attract companies, especially technology-related firms: a brick facade reminiscent of urban warehouses, Hines Senior Managing Director John Heagy said. 

“It's been an interesting phenomenon to see the number of tech companies [touring] the building,” Heagy said.

Anthem Technology Center

Developer: Portman Holdings 
Location: Midtown
Size: 352K SF
Delivery: February

After years of focusing on international markets, hometown developer Portman returned to Atlanta with a vengeance in this cycle, with special attention on Technology Square in Midtown. After spearheading the development of the $375M Coda with Georgia Tech, Portman broke ground on a then-speculative 21-story tower across the street.

Soon after breaking ground, Portman announced that healthcare giant Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield would lease the entire tower at 740 West Peachtree St. for its IT operations. The building is expected to house 3,000 employees when it opens next month.

Last May, Portman broke ground on another 20-story office tower at 712 West Peachtree, and as with 740 West Peachtree, Anthem announced that it was also leasing space in that tower, set to deliver in 2021.

Twelve24

Developer: Trammell Crow 
Location: Central Perimeter 
Size: 335K SF
Delivery: April

Another Central Perimeter transit-oriented development lured a major company during its construction phase. Trammell Crow, in a joint venture with CBRE Global Investors, broke ground in summer 2018 on the 16-story Twelve24 tower connected to the Dunwoody MARTA Station. The project, now 70% pre-leased, secured the headquarter of national technology staffing company Insight Global as the primary anchor.

Twelve24, which is rising across Hammond Drive in Dunwoody from the State Farm campus, is set to include 11K SF of ground-floor retail, floor-to-ceiling glass and open floor plans, Commercial Property Executive reported. Iron Hill Brewery will occupy part of the retail space.

“We are currently engaged with another retail tenant as well as talking with prospects for the remaining office space,” Trammell Crow principal Brandon Houston wrote in an email to Bisnow.

The Interlock

Developer: S.J. Collins Enterprises 
Location: West Midtown 
Size: 763K SF mixed-use, plus apartments and townhouses 
Delivery: Spring

S.J. Collins Enterprises entered West Midtown in 2017 with plans to develop The Interlock, a major mixed-use project that is set to include more than 200K SF of office. Soon after breaking ground, S.J. Collins signed WeWork to 180K SF and Georgia Technology Ventures to 50K SF, the Atlanta Business Chronicle reported at the time.

Despite the meltdown by WeWork late last year with its failed IPO, S.J. Collins officials maintain that the coworking giant is still on track to occupy its space at the project. The developer also announced in December a plan to expand the project with an additional 160K SF office, a 40K SF grocery store, a 280-unit student housing project, another hotel and more retail space, the ABC reported.

10000 Avalon

Developer: Hines and Cousins Properties 
Location: Alpharetta 
Size: 251K SF 
Delivery: January

Hines and Cousins Properties rolled the dice on 10000 Avalon, the second office building at the Avalon mixed-use project and a sister building to 8000 Avalon, in 2018.

The developers hit a home run with 8000 Avalon, having filled the building up with marquee names like Microsoft and Regus. Soon after breaking ground on 10000 Avalon, the developers secured a deal with AXIS Capital Holdings for three floors.