ATLANTA, GA — November 30, 2021 — The Georgetown Company and its affiliate RocaPoint Partners, today announce the latest updates for Campus 244, a 1 million-plus-square-foot mixed-use development adjacent to the Dunwoody MARTA station in Atlanta’s Central Perimeter submarket. Situated on 12.8 acres, the walkable campus will feature a new 145-key Element Hotel, complete with a dynamic lobby bar and separate chef-driven local restaurant, all complementing the 400,000-square-foot adaptive reuse office building and 25,000 square feet of new food and beverage establishments. This announcement comes as pre-leasing momentum builds around office and retail space at the creative mixed-use campus near GA 400 and I-285.
“With all of the pre-development pieces now in place, we are ready to forge ahead with the next phase in the redevelopment of Campus 244 and deliver a walkable, amenity-rich creative campus in Atlanta’s largest office submarket,” said Jonathan Schmerin, Managing Principal of Georgetown. “Campus 244 caters to the wants and needs of today’s workforce, with open and modern office spaces, an exciting restaurant/bar mix and on-site amenities such as a new Element Hotel. It is emerging as a true mixed-use destination for the Central Perimeter market.”
The first phase includes the adaptive reimagining of the existing Gold Kist office building into a five-story, 400,000-square-foot Class-A building with a timber overbuild. The modernized workspace features generous 15-foot ceilings, private outdoor terraces, balcony space and expansive 90,000-square-foot floor plates that emphasize natural daylight and fresh air throughout. The building is also heavily focused on health and wellness, offering several post-pandemic workspace features such as state-of-the-art HVAC systems, touchless elevator and restroom technologies, open staircases and operable windows. S9 Architecture, the architectural firm responsible for the adaptive reuse design of Ponce City Market, is engaged to handle the design and master planning for Campus 244. Main Street Advisors is also partnering with Georgetown and RocaPoint on this project.
In addition to the adaptive reuse office building, the first phase will include an upscale, boutique, 145-key Element Hotel – part of Marriott Bonvoy’s extraordinary portfolio of 30 leading brands. The hotel will feature a stunning lobby bar that will spill out onto the expansive greenspace, as well as diverse areas to gather for meetings, remote work and collaboration, as well as spots to simply get coffee with friends and colleagues.
“We are excited to introduce the Element Hotel brand to the Perimeter market, as well as the opportunity to be in partnership with RocaPoint Partners and The Georgetown Company in this impressive redevelopment,” says Mitch Patel, President & CEO of Vision Hospitality Group. “As we currently own and operate nine hotels in the Greater Atlanta market, including the recently opened AC Hotel by Marriott Atlanta Perimeter, our connection to the community and commitment to its success are significant. We are excited to begin this exclusive project as part of the area’s transformation.”
The multi-phase project will include 25,000 square feet of restaurant space, including some familiar concepts from the more than 20 food-and-beverage establishments within RocaPoint and Georgetown’s $500-million mixed-use development in Alpharetta, Halcyon. The four-to-five chef-driven restaurant concepts at Campus 244 will be located surrounding a central plaza greenspace, providing a connected gathering space for employees on-campus, as well as the local community. Steve Yenser with Yenser Co., who also led efforts to curate the diverse mix of national and local restaurants at Halcyon, is managing retail leasing.
“In recent years, heavy investment in the Central Perimeter market has stimulated job growth and attracted a hub of major Fortune 500 and Fortune 1000 companies from across the Southeast,” said Phil Mays, Principal at RocaPoint Partners. “At Campus 244, we’re bringing a proven model of a dynamic restaurant mix surrounding a central greenspace that provides an activated sense of place for employees and visitors alike. As the momentum in the submarket has continued to grow, we are capitalizing on the opportunity to deliver a unique and totally reimagined transit-oriented campus.”
RocaPoint and Georgetown purchased the former Gold Kist headquarters in 2020. The firms are also underway with the second phase of Halcyon, which introduces an additional 60,000 square feet of office space and has announced significant leases for Morgan Stanley, BBQGuys and Alimera at the project. RocaPoint and Georgetown are also in progress on a $1-billion redevelopment of the County Square project in Greenville, South Carolina, and RocaPoint recently completed the PGA TOUR Global Home in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.
Adjacent to the Dunwoody MARTA Station, Campus 244 offers convenient, transit-oriented access to Atlanta’s “Pill Hill” healthcare community of leading medical centers, State Farm’s office campus, Perimeter Mall and other surrounding office and retail amenities. Additionally, the campus has approximately 1,000 feet of frontage along I-285 providing unparalleled signage opportunities, and easy access to GA-400.
Home to more than six million people in 2020, metro Atlanta saw the fourth-largest population increase of all MSAs in the nation. A recent Cushman & Wakefield report showed Central Perimeter experienced a major turnaround in positive absorption of 439,544 square feet in Q2, illustrating the healthy office demand within the submarket. Aileen Almassey, Andy Sumlin and Will Porter with Cushman & Wakefield manage office leasing for Campus 244. For more information, please visit Campus244.com.
