Atlanta Hawks organization reclaims three floors of downtown tower, plans renovation

So far in 2018, the blocks surrounding Centennial Olympic Park have seen hundreds of apartments and hotel rooms green-lighted as part of an ongoing groundswell in investment activity across downtown.

Another feather (almost literally) in the subdistrict’s cap came today when the Atlanta Hawks organization announced an eight-year commitment to staying true to its downtown roots, echoing the NBA franchise’s motto.

The Hawks have signed an eight-year lease at the refreshed 101 Marietta Street building, a prominent piece of downtown’s skyline for more than 40 years, where more than 200 employees will claim about 54,000 square feet across three different floors, officials announced.

Courtesy of 101 Marietta Street

The basketball club has called the tower home since 2004, and the renewed lease means “major renovations ... aimed at increasing the number of collaborative and employee-friendly work spaces” will move forward.

“We love being downtown—so close to [Philips] Arena, MARTA and Centennial Park,” said Scott Wilkinson, the Hawks’s chief legal officer, in a prepared statement. “We’re committed to the future of downtown Atlanta.”

In an attempt to court millennial professionals and other talent from pricier office hubs across the city, the 101 Marietta Street building (formerly called Centennial Tower) underwent a $5 million renovation that wrapped last summer.

North Carolina-based The Dilweg Companies believes its efforts to enliven the glassy 1975 tower—famed for the luminescent chevron near the top of its 36 stories—have paid off, in that the building is now 80 percent leased.

The developer announced a string of new leases in February that will bring up to 300 more workers downtown on a daily basis. Beyond the Hawks, the eclectic tenant mix includes The Associated Press, CH Robinson, Oracle, and Southern Education, among others.

Changes to the building are highlighted by a Perkins+Will-designed lobby with a two-way virtual window offering real-time views of the streetscape and building interior, collaborative spaces, and restaurant-style booths.

Dilweg’s managing director Jerry Banks called the Hawks “a cornerstone tenant” and “valued ambassador” and said the building’s leasing momentum coincides with “the resurgence of downtown Atlanta.”

Photos courtesy of 101 Marietta Street; this image by Zach Rolen

• Near Gulch, refreshed downtown Atlanta tower lauds leasing successes [Curbed]