The relocation will almost certainly raise metro Atlanta's office vacancy level above the current 20.6% mark, analysts say. "Atlanta's office market continues to weaken," Michael A. Crawford, research director at Atlanta-based Bullock Mannelly Partners tells GlobeSt.com. "With many companies struggling to turn profits, excess office space has been shed at a hurried pace."

Highwoods Properties Inc., the Raleigh, NC-based owner of the Coke-occupied building has hired Advantis Real Estate Services Inc. of Atlanta to fill the suburban space. Average quoted rents in the Glenlake submarket, north of Downtown Atlanta, are $22 to $24 per sf. Subleased space would be less, brokers say.

The soft drink company confirms it will continue to pay Highwoods rent until a sublease tenant is found. Coke is on a 10-year lease that expires in 2011. The lease is aggregately valued at $60 million or about $24 per sf, according to a published report.

Besides the cost-savings aspect of the relocation, Coke envisions integrating three North American divisions, Jeff Dunn, president of the company's North America division, has told directors. Those divisions are fountain or food-serve; bottle and can or retail; and Minute Maid. Workers at Coke's food-service facility in suburban Dunwoody, GA are not part of the company's move to Downtown.

The Sandy Springs-to-Downtown move follows another big deal Coca Cola Enterprise Inc., affiliated with Coca-Cola Co., completed May 1. As previously reported by GlobeSt.com, Coca-Cola Enterprises leased a total 214,000 sf in some of the space IBM Corp vacated at the 12-year-old, 687,000-sf Wildwood Plaza developed by Cousins Properties Inc. in the Wildwood Office Park.

That lease, for an average 10 years, is aggregately valued at an estimated $45 million, area brokers in a position to know tell GlobeSt.com. The space will be occupied by Coca-Cola Bottlers Sales, Coca-Cola Enterprises and Service Co. LLC, owned by a Coca-Cola bottling group.