Cousins Properties presented plans to the Midtown Development Review Committee this week for exterior improvements to 1200 Peachtree St. NE, the former Midtown office building of Norfolk Southern.
The project involves several steps, from minor facade modifications to new hardscaping and landscaping, meant to help transition the building from single-tenant to multi-tenant occupancy as Norfolk Southern readies for its move later this year to its new headquarters building.
“It’s pretty much been a single-tenant occupancy building for virtually all of its life,” Kimley-Horn Project Manager Charles Zakem said of 1200 Peachtree during the Tuesday presentation. “This project is essentially part of a greater effort to convert that facility – not only upgrade it – but also convert it into a very viable and vibrant multi-tenant office building.”
Cousins Properties acquired 1200 Peachtree from Norfolk Southern for $82 million in 2019.
Plans call for improvements to the 12-story, 370,000-square-foot building’s plaza and other public areas. Hardscape and landscape renovations are envisioned for the front of the 40-year-old building, which is at the southwestern corner of Peachtree and 15th Streets.
Proposed corner improvements coincide with Midtown Alliance’s underway renovation of Midtown’s Arts District Plaza. Plans for that project include the reinstallation of the site’s 30-foot-tall Sabine Woman sculpture.
At the rear of 1200 Peachtree, Cousins Properties would also rebuild an existing covered walkway for connection with the neighboring Promenade building to the west (another building owned by Cousins Properties). A back garden on the site is also expected to be renovated.
In addition, plans call for a reconfiguration of the property’s parking area.
The DRC offered support for the project with minor comments, such as recommending a widening of the sidewalk along Peachtree Street, according to a summary of the meeting.
Cousins Properties is also considering a new coffee kiosk for the building’s lobby, according to the summary.
During the presentation, Cousins Properties Executive Vice President of Development John McColl said the company anticipated a January start for the project.
The project architect is tvsdesign, while Site Solutions is the landscape architect.
Kimley-Horn is serving as the civil engineer of record.
