CP Group has purchased CNN Center in Downtown Atlanta for an undisclosed price, it announced on Thursday. The company said it completed the acquisition in a joint venture with funds managed by Rialto Capital Management.
The seller of the 1.2 million-square-foot office building was WarnerMedia. Its sale follows parent company AT&T’s acquisition of the land and air rights around CNN Center from the state of Georgia, reported by Bisnow last month.
Formerly known as Crocker Partners, CP Group said in its announcement that it will look to transform the asset and that the building will be leased back to WarnerMedia “for a number of years.”
“The CNN Center is one of Atlanta’s most iconic landmarks and we look forward to embracing the opportunity to strategically transform the asset and build off the city’s current momentum,” CP Group partner Chris Eachus said in a statement.
CP Group didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on its investment plans for the property.
Built in 1976, CNN Center has served as a hub for cable news company CNN since 1987. The company operates its control rooms and production teams from the space as well as CNN.com, while most of its newscasts are now anchored from New York and Washington, D.C.
Its sale comes as AT&T works to sell off its WarnerMedia division to Discovery.
The complex is adjacent to Centennial Yards, the $5 billion, 50-acre mixed-use project being led by CIM Group in Downtown Atlanta, and is near other landmark properties like Mercedes-Benz Stadium and State Farm Arena.
For Boca Raton, Florida-based CP Group, the purchase of CNN Center follows other large acquisitions made inside and outside the Atlanta market. It announced in early June that it had closed on a trio of suburban office properties with Farallon Capital Management. And it just acquired One Biscayne Tower in Downtown Miami.
“Many markets across the Sun Belt and the Southeast continue to attract large numbers of new jobs and residents following the pandemic, but Atlanta is uniquely positioned for success in the coming years,” Eachus said.
“Thanks to corporate relocations and expansions, Atlanta’s forecasted economic growth is a standout among major metropolitan areas.”
