After securing the technology operations of a major health benefits provider for one new Midtown tower, Portman Holdings is uncertain what to do with its twin.
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The site, at the corner of Fourth and West Peachtree streets in Midtown, will soon be the home for Anthem Inc.'s IT operations in a 21-story, build-to-suit tower. Portman Holdings originally envisioned a two-tower, mixed-use project there that would encompass more than 600K SF. As of now, plans for the rest of the parcel remain uncertain, Portman Director of Leasing Travis Garland said.
“We don't have absolute plans for the second piece yet,” Garland said, adding that office and multifamily are both being considered. “I think there's going to be a large office component on that site. But that might be mixed with something. We just don't know yet.”
Anthem intends to occupy all of the 352K SF tower, to be called Anthem Technology Center, as home for its 3,000 IT employees. The project is expected to deliver in 2020.
Portman already is underway across the street with Coda, the $375M, 770K SF office tower geared toward high-tech companies. Georgia Tech has already agreed to lease 300K SF of Coda. Other tenants at the project include ThyssenKrupp and Next Tier HD, which will operate an 80K SF data center. Coda is scheduled to deliver in 2019.
While the Anthem parcel in total is entitled for more than 600K SF, Garland said Portman could attempt to get approvals from the city to increase that size. There is nothing that could launch the second part of the project any time soon, Garland said, although he is bullish on tenant demand in Midtown.
“Coda's proven [there is demand by tech companies in Midtown] and Anthem's proven this,” he said. "I think Atlanta is on the cusp of something special from an innovation perspective."
Portman has become one of the most active developers in Atlanta since returning its focus to the U.S. following projects in Asia and India. Aside from Anthem Technology Center and Coda, Portman last year renovated 230 Peachtree, a 50-year-old, 27-story tower in Downtown Atlanta, to convert the first nine floors into a 200-key Hotel Indigo.
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