A recent deal in Midtown’s so-called “Techtangle” lends further evidence that intown office leasing hasn’t flatlined, especially with growing technology companies.

At a Peachtree Street midcentury office mid-rise reimagined as Circa 730, Lincoln Property Company Southeast has inked a 21,000-square-foot expansion with Variant, a new tech company by one of the nation’s largest truckload carriers, U.S. Express.

Lincoln finished a $6-million redo of the 11-story, 1967 building in 2019, a block north of the Fox Theatre.

A South American wine and tapas bar, El Viñedo, had been expected to open at the building in early 2020, prior to pandemic lockdowns. That concept will now debut at Circa 730 later this month, according to project reps. (Although the restaurant's website indicates limited dine-in seating has already begun.) 

Creative patio seating along Peachtree. The building is owned by Crestlight Capital.  Courtesy of Lincoln Property Company Southeast

Lincoln's investment refreshed the façade and added sculptural swings to its expanded patios. Inside is a new fitness center, showers and lockers, a conference center, bike storage, and what’s described as Atlanta’s first interactive pixel wall.

The Variant deal brings the building to 90 percent leased, according to Lincoln officials.

The pixel wall and reimagined elevator bays. Courtesy of Lincoln Property Company Southeast

Variant, the trucking company’s fastest-growing division, is building on 9,200 square feet U.S. Express leased at the Midtown building in 2019.

Variant doesn’t operate driverless trucks, but helps orchestrate its fleet using algorithms to leverage “advanced technologies and machine learning to monitor real-time variables like traffic, weather, and road obstructions,” per the company.

“One year after the world shut down due to the pandemic,” Lincoln’s Michael Howell said in a prepared statement, “Atlanta remains a corporate and logistics hub throughout the Southeast.”

Overview of the subdistrict in 2020. Courtesy of Lincoln Property Company Southeast

The Midtown Techtangle, as developers have coined it, spans from Peachtree Street to Georgia Tech and includes tech companies headquartered in the district, such as NCR and Anthem.

U.S. Express’ office expansion joins recent Midtown leasing moves by titans of the industry, such as Google (top floors of 1105 West Peachtree’s 31-story office building) and Microsoft (520,000 square feet at Atlantic Yards, in Atlantic Station).

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