"Gulch" mixed-used project being pitched for Amazon HQ2 to include 18-building campus

December 12,2017

Source: Urvaksh Karkaria, Atlanta Business Chronicle

A proposed 27-acre redevelopment in downtown Atlanta, said to be the city’s primary pitch for Amazon.com’s $5 billion second headquarters, will include at least six office towers — one of which would top 500 feet, or about 26 floors.

Los Angeles-based CIM Group filed plans with the Georgia Department of Community Affairs to develop 9.35 million square feet of office and 1 million square feet of retail space in the "Gulch", near CNN Center and Philips Arena. CIM's plans also call for a 1,500-room hotel and 1,000 apartments.

Plans call for up to 18 buildings, including a 46,000 square-foot hotel and three residential towers, according to public documents. The proposed office buildings would range from 8,000 square feet to 84,000 square feet.

The Gulch site currently consists of surface parking lots, the CNN Center deck, and other parking facilities. The property being planned for redevelopment is bordered by Centennial Olympic Park Drive, Mitchell Street, Richard B Russell Plaza, Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, Ted Turner Drive and portions of Marietta Street and Forsyth Street. 

CIM plans to complete the $1 billion mixed-use development in 2027. A key principal of the CIM Group is Richard Ressler, the brother of Tony Ressler, the majority owner of the Atlanta Hawks.

The proposed Gulch development ticks many of the boxes for Amazon's proposed 8 million-square-foot second headquarters, which could create 50,000 jobs over two decades. More than 230 cities are competing for the economic development bonanza, and Atlanta is considered by many to be a favorite to land the deal.

Read the complete article at the link above.