Change in Ownership at Atlanta’s Georgia-Pacific Center

By Barbra Murray, Contributing Editor

For the first time since its development in 1982, Georgia-Pacific Center in downtown Atlanta has a new name on its deed. The 1.1 million-square-foot office tower, previously owned by a joint venture between tenant Georgia-Pacific L.L.C. and MetLife, is now co-owned by Georgia-Pacific and an affiliate of its parent company, Koch Industries Inc.

Just how much Koch paid for MetLife’s stake in the iconic property has not been divulged. The building has a current assessed value of approximately $77.9 million, according to Fulton County records.

Everyone in town knows the red-granite building, and not just as the home of more than 2,500 employees of the bath tissue and paper products manufacturer. Located at 133 Peachtree St., the 52-story Georgia-Pacific Center holds a prominent place on downtown Atlanta’s skyline as the city’s sixth tallest building. The property is also recognized as having served as a key development in the revitalization of downtown more than 30 years ago. And, the skyscraper is also well-known for its Hollywood history; it sits at the former location of the Loew’s Grand Theatre, the site of the 1939 premier of the classic film “Gone with the Wind.”

Today, Georgia-Pacific still occupies the majority of the LEED Silver-certified skyscraper; it signed a lease renewal for 675,000 square feet in 2013. Under the new ownership structure, the building will continue as a multi-tenant property, with other office occupants as well as a handful of retailers.

Currently, the tower is nearly fully leased, with less than 55,000 square feet available, according to the property’s website. 

Georgia-Pacific has not publicized details regarding the ownership interest in the Georgia-Pacific Center transaction, which included the parking facility behind the building. According to an SEC filing in 2005, the year Koch took the paper products company private in a $21 billion acquisition, the GA-MET joint venture owning the office property was a 50-50 partnership. 

As for the possible sales price of Georgia Pacific Center, the total actual value of the property and the parking facility, listed in Fulton County records as approximately $194.8 million and $18.4 million, respectively, offers some perspective. The average sale price of office buildings in metro Atlanta in 2014 was roughly $125 per square-foot, according to a report by commercial real estate services firm Marcus & Millichap. Notable transactions this year include Building and Land Technology’s snapping up of the 2.2-million-square-foot landmark Concourse Corporate Center office complex and a prime parcel of developable land for $489 million. Other office trades include Parkway Properties’ purchase of the 462,000-square-foot One Buckhead Plaza for $154 million; the Brookdale Group’s $148 million acquisition of the 424,000-square-foot The Pinnacle; and Franklin Street Properties Corp.’s acquisition of Two Ravinia Drive, a 442,000-square-foot tower, in a $78 million deal.