<< Back to Press

Terminus Gains Two Floors

Bryan Long Staff Writer

ATLANTA--(Atlanta Business Chronicle)--October 10, 2005--Terminus is growing. Cousins Properties Inc. will send its signature Buckhead tower two floors, or about 25 feet, higher into the skyline thanks to strong leasing activity and continued interest in the project, the developer confirmed.

The company started construction on Terminus 100 in early 2005 with plans to build a 25-story building with 532,000 square feet of office space and a goal of stretching that higher. At the end of the second quarter, the company met an internal benchmark and decided to build an additional 48,000 square feet of office space into the tower.

Terminus will have an architectural spire rising six stories above the top office floor to create the appearance of a 33-story building.

Larry Gellerstedt, president of Cousins' Office/Multi-Family division, said the plan all along was to add another two or four floors if the market allowed.

"We designed the building so that as it began to come out of the ground we could add a couple of additional floors, if needed," Gellerstedt said.

Although the company isn't announcing new lease deals, Cousins Vice Chairman, President and CEO Tom Bell Jr. did say there should be announcements soon.

"There's a lot of leasing momentum," Bell said. "The building is leasing up very quickly."

Terminus 100 is 42 percent leased, with commitments for another 18 percent. CB Richard Ellis Inc. is consolidating into two floors and evaluating the option for a third. Bain & Co. will move its Atlanta headquarters into Terminus 100.

Cousins also will move from its Cobb County headquarters to occupy two floors of Terminus once the building is completed in spring 2007.

Sam Massell, president of Buckhead Coalition Inc., said he's not surprised by Cousins' decision to build taller.

"There had been talk about expanding the building, the likelihood of expanding the size of it," he said.

Massell said Cousins' expansion plans are an indicator of continued growth.

"It's good for those who want to locate in Buckhead because you've got to have supply to meet the demand," Massell said. "We see the community becoming more and more a magnet for business as well as residential growth."

Terminus 100 is the first office component within a 10-acre master-planned urban community called Terminus. The community will have a mix of office, retail and residential.

Cousins recently graded the land where a 700- to 800-unit condominium tower will rise. The work, along with other indicators, have sparked rumors that Cousins plans to fast-track the condos.

"There's a strong understanding in the community that he's proceeding with the residential component at the same time," Massell said.

Gellerstedt said there are no plans to advance the condo project even though "we're very bullish on the residential."

"The site preparation is exactly that," Gellerstedt said. "When you have a large construction project like this one, it's often easier and cheaper to prepare the sites and infrastructure -- building roads -- at the same time."

Terminus 100 is rising at the corner of Peachtree and Piedmont roads, which is among the busiest intersections in Atlanta -- for traffic and for construction.

Just north of the corner, Regent Partners LLC has announced plans to build a 47-story tower at 3344 Peachtree.

The plans call for "3344 Peachtree" to have 480,000 square feet of office space, 99 condominiums on the top 21 floors and a 14,000-square-foot restaurant that would be developed by Pano Karatassos of Buckhead Life Restaurant Group Inc.

Regent has not started construction of the building, but has said it would do so this fall.

Between the two buildings, Novare Group Inc. and Wood Partners LLC are building the 406-unit Realm condominiums. The residential high-rise is at 3324 Peachtree and is scheduled to open in April.

Gellerstedt said the response to Terminus 100 is an indicator that Buckhead remains a hot market and that Cousins is not outpacing the market.

"It's a very smart thing to do to meet the demand that's out there," he said. "This is just a response to the success we've had."

Copyright(c) American City Business Journals Inc. All rights reserved.

You can view this article on the web at:
http://atlanta.bizjournals.com/atlanta/stories/2005/10/10/story6.html