ATLANTA-Barry Real Estate Co. plans to break ground April 26 on 55 Allen Plaza, the second 346,000-sf office phase of its planned $300-million, 1.8-acre Downtown office, retail, condominium and hotel complex. The 260,000-sf 30 Allen Plaza building was topped out this week. The Georgia Department of Natural Resources has conditionally approved the entire Allen Plaza project.
The state agency says the developer can go ahead with the three-building venture providing the firm first cleans up chemically hazardous portions at the site, four blocks from Centennial Olympic Park. Barry will also need to haul off tainted soil where a planned four-level underground parking structure will eventually be built, the agency says.
"We're thrilled to break ground on our second building at Allen Plaza so quickly after topping out the first tower," says Hal Barry, chairman, Barry Real Estate Cos. "This groundbreaking is a celebration of the bright future of Downtown Atlanta and the vision and momentum behind Allen Plaza.
"Our development represents a vibrant and tangible sign of progress for Downtown Atlanta."
Allen Plaza is being developed at the north end of the central business district where a Heineken billboard currently overlooks the Downtown Connector road. Allen Plaza is named for the late Atlanta Mayor Ivan Allen Jr. who guided the city through the civil rights period in the 1960s.
Southern Co.'s new headquarters will be a 14-story, 260,000-sf building Barry is building at 30 Allen Plaza. Southern has signed a 12-year, 130,000-sf lease at an estimated aggregate rent of $31.2 million, Downtown office brokers familiar with the project tell GlobeSt.com. Southern will be relocating from Richard Bowers & Co.'s 270 Peachtree St. Building where the utility company has been the anchor tenant since 1995, occupying 162,500 sf.
Barry has also signed Ernst & Young to an estimated 15-year, 135,000-sf lease at what will be the 55 Allen Plaza building. Ernst & Young will be moving from the Bank of America Tower in May 2007, as GlobeSt.com previously reported.
At a total 1.2 million sf, Allen Plaza will be metro's second largest office site next to the 55-story, 1.3-million-sf, 1,023-foot tall Bank of America Tower. Financing for the planned 250-room hotel at 45 Allen Plaza is in the preliminary stage. The total amount of retail to be developed is also being determined. At least 100 condominium units are also planned.
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