Mixed-use makeover begins at 'Midtown’s front door'

A highly visible office building coined “Midtown’s front door” by its owners is showing fresh signs of life, after sitting empty for more than two years following its completion.

San Francisco-based Shorenstein Investment Advisors announced today that renovations and other capital improvements have kicked off at 14th & Spring, a 12-story Class A office tower that’s not yet three years old.

Totaling 324,000 square feet, the glass-encased 1150 Spring St. building stands near the southwest corner of the 14th Street intersection, next to the upscale Novel Midtown apartments and across the street from Whole Foods' flagship Midtown store.

Exterior of 14th & Spring and proximity to Midtown's Whole Foods today. Shorenstein Investment Advisors

Shorenstein Investment Advisors

The tower, developed by Atlanta-based Greenstone Properties, was finished in 2022 amid a tough, post-pandemic office market and stood completely vacant for the next two years. Shorenstein acquired the building last summer for an undisclosed price reported to be in the low $200-per-square-foot range.

14th & Spring’s upgrades are scheduled to move quickly and be finished in the third quarter of this year.

They will include a new food and beverage concept onsite that’s being put together with George Banks, founder of Revel, a retail real estate development firm. Shorenstein is also working with Midtown Alliance on streetscape and landscaping improvements for 14th & Spring’s exterior. Those efforts will include public art installations and tenant branding spaces on 14th Street, between Williams and Spring streets, according to Shorenstein officials.

Inside the building, plans call for new first-floor amenities including a café and bar, a 100-person training room, a 14-seat boardroom, a gym, conference center, lounge, tenant library, and an outdoor terrace connected to the building.

Shorenstein Investment Advisors

Elsewhere changes call for a modernized and fully renovated lobby, plus the addition of five spec suites across the building’s entire third floor. Designed for professional service firms and creative, tech-focused industries, those spaces will total 28,500 square feet, each ranging from 2,352 to 7,379 square feet.

Shorenstein’s efforts appear to be paying off. In October, the building bagged a three-floor, 100,000-square-foot lease with infrastructure design firm HNTB Corporation.

This week, Shorenstein officials said Atlanta-based law firm Cushing, Morris, Armbruster, & Montgomery has pre-leased one of the new spec suites. The firm plans to relocate from the downtown offices it occupies today by August.

The Murphy Meyers firm is designing the spec suites, while ASD | SKY is design architect for the lobby repositioning and first-floor amenities. CBRE is handling leasing.

“It’s not often you see a newly constructed office tower undergoing such a comprehensive capital and amenity upgrade that meets the demands of today’s tenants,” Nicole Goldsmith, a CBRE senior vice president, said in today’s announcement.

Perks of 14th & Spring’s location include quick access to the downtown Connector and five-minute walkability to two food halls, 20 restaurants, 12 hotels, and five coffee shops, per Shorenstein officials.

Shorenstein Investment Advisors