Atlanta, GA
Georgia-Pacific Eyes Mixed-Use Redevelopment Downtown | What Now Atlanta
An Atlanta-based corporation is eyeing a major mixed-use redevelopment.
Georgia-Pacific has announced initial plans to transform its 51-story headquarters and the surrounding city block into a center with residential, retail, restaurant and office space.
The proposed development would include more than 400 apartments on the tower’s top floors, which are among the highest in the Southeast, according to a news release.
The project would also include about 125,000 square feet of retail, restaurant and entertainment space; about 600,000 square feet of office space, anchored by Georgia-Pacific and Koch Inc.; and about 35,000 square feet dedicated to a large central plaza. There would be more than 2,100 parking spaces.
Future development plans could include opportunities for a hotel and additional retail and residential space.
“If realized, this will be more than just a redevelopment; it has the potential to generate economic growth and create mutual benefit for the city, local businesses, their employees, Georgia-Pacific employees and our vibrant community,” Georgia-Pacific President and CEO Christian Fischer said in a news release. “The office landscape has changed, and we recognize that the adaptive reuse of our site and office tower can create greater long-term value. We are also acutely aware of the need for more residential, shopping, dining and entertainment options in our downtown neighborhood, which is why Georgia-Pacific is excited to provide a space that will offer unmatched opportunity in Downtown Atlanta.”
Partners on the project include Rule Joy Trammell + Rubio, architect of record; Healy Weatherholtz, retail broker; Kimley-Horn, civil engineering; Studio Saint, interior design; Brasfield & Gorrie, preconstruction; and Transwestern, consulting and property management.
Georgia-Pacific has also assembled an in-house development team responsible for leading both the redevelopment efforts and the “go-to-market strategy and capitalization of the project.”
Georgia-Pacific and its subsidiaries are among the world’s leading manufacturers and marketers of bath tissue, paper towels and napkins, tableware, paper-based packaging, cellulose and building products.
Completed in 1982 and covered in pink granite, the Georgia-Pacific Center is viewed as an architectural landmark. It occupies the historic site of DeGive’s Grand Opera House, later the Loew’s Grand Theatre, where “Gone with the Wind” premiered in 1939.
“This transformative redevelopment is a significant step in moving Atlanta forward, turning an important block in the heart of the city into a vibrant and welcoming destination that breathes new life into downtown,” Mayor Andre Dickens said in the news release.
The project is expected to be complete in fall 2027.
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The public is getting its first look at the two pandas that will be heading from China to Zoo Atlanta.
NBC’s Janis Mackey Frayer was able to visit female Fu Shuang and male Ping Ping before they make the nearly 8,000-mile flight. The giant pandas are both 6 years old and are headed to the United States as part of a new decade-long conservation agreement between China and the U.S.
Ping Ping’s keepers say he tends to follow them around, which is atypical behavior for a panda, but may be because of the food they have for him. Fu Shuang — which translates to “double happiness” — is playful, but nervous, and enjoys placing her chin on her paw. She also likes apples and has a penchant for finding them.
“Because we will hide pieces of apples, for example under the tree … she can find them everywhere,” panda keeper Wang Shun told Mackey Frayer, noting her “clever” behavior.
The pandas are part of an international cooperative research agreement on giant panda conservation between Zoo Atlanta and the China Wildlife Conservation Association, a renewal of panda diplomacy between America and China that began in 1972.
“Zoo Atlanta is delighted and honored to yet again be trusted as stewards of this treasured species and to partner with the China Wildlife Conservation Association on the continued conservation and research efforts that are the most important outcomes of this cooperation,” Zoo Atlanta President and CEO Raymond B. King said in a statement in April.
“We can’t wait to meet Ping Ping and Fu Shuang and to welcome our Members, guests, city, and community back to the wonder and joy of giant pandas.”
Pandas are already at zoos in Washington, D.C., and San Diego. Zoo Atlanta maintained a panda agreement with China from 1999 until 2024, when Lun Lun and Yang Yang went back to their home country, along with their two youngest cubs.
Animal behaviorist James Ayala marvels at how pandas mature.
“You see cubs and they seem so cuddly and clumsy and cute. And then they grow up into these big, majestic bears,” he told Mackey Frayer.
Fu Shuang and Ping Ping will be transported further south into a mountainous region where they will be prepped to make the trip to the U.S. It is unknown when they will leave.
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