GE Power Spinoff Reducing Footprint By 70% In Relocation Near The Battery
General Electric is moving the Atlanta-area headquarters of its GE Power division to a much smaller office space in anticipation of spinning it off into its own company next year.
GE Vernova, the planned publicly traded company consisting of GE’s energy business, has signed a 77K SF lease through 2036 at 600 Galleria Parkway, one of the five towers that make up The Galleria office park in Cobb County, owned by Piedmont Office Realty Trust.
The deal means GE Power is set to vacate its offices at 4200 Wildwood Parkway, the 588K SF office building within the wooded Wildwood Office Park in Marietta, where it leases 256K SF, according to data provided by Avison Young.
The new lease amounts to a nearly 70% downsizing and would leave the five-story 4200 Wildwood building, owned by Workspace Property Trust, without a tenant.
CBRE Vice Chairmen John Shlesinger and Glenn Dyke and Executive Vice President Lisa Harber represented GE Vernova in the transaction, while JLL Executive Managing Directors Adam Viente and Jeff Bellamy represented Piedmont.
Viente told Bisnow that GE Vernova is moving to its new space 4 miles south of 4200 Wildwood sometime next year. A CBRE spokesperson didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. GE deferred comment to Piedmont.
Piedmont CEO Brent Smith trumpeted the deal during the company's third-quarter earnings call Tuesday, saying GE Vernova pushes 600 Galleria’s occupancy rate from 68% to 90%, the latest sign of momentum at Piedmont’s Galleria office park across Interstate 285 from The Battery Atlanta, the mixed-use development that is home to the Atlanta Braves.
“[Galleria] is an example of how our amenitized, well-located, high-quality assets continue to lead their respective submarkets with leasing activity,” Smith said. “While fundamentals will continue to remain challenging in select submarkets, high-quality assets continue to perform well.”
Piedmont Executive Vice President George Wells said the GE Vernova deal “gives us the confidence to continue pushing rental rates.”
Boca Raton, Florida-based Workspace Property Trust purchased 4200 Wildwood from California-based Griffin Capital in August 2022 for $43.1M, according to the Reonomy database.
A spokesperson for Workspace didn't respond to messages seeking comment.
GE Vernova is one of three companies that will emerge from the former industrial giant's plan to break itself apart, which was first announced by CEO Larry Culp in 2021.
The company spun off GE HealthCare earlier this year, and Vernova is expected to be fully spun off by next year and will publicly trade as GEV. The company is focused on fossil fuel power plant equipment, renewable energy and electric grid business, the Times Union reported. The remaining company will be called GE Aerospace.
