A landmark downtown building billed as “the South’s preeminent trophy tower” is welcoming the new year with a wave of lease transactions, bucking the trend in recent years of gloomy office predicaments in submarkets around Atlanta.  

Real estate investment firm Banyan Street Capital and its joint venture partner Oaktree Capital Management announced today more than 40,000 square feet in office leases at the 50-story 191 Peachtree building, an iconic highpoint of Atlanta’s skyline for more than 30 years.

Longtime Atlanta developer and investment firm Integral was among the companies to lay claim to 191 Peachtree space. Elsewhere, three of the six new leases—representing 23,388 square feet—are law firms, while two others work in the nonprofit sector, according to Banyan officials.  

Courtesy of Banyan Street Capital

Built in 1991 and renovated in 2016, the Phillip Johnson/Burgee Architects-designed building includes more than 1.2 million square feet overall, according to CBRE.

Today, 191 Peachtree counts more than 20 law firms and 12 nonprofit organizations among its tenants.

Features of the tower include a grand lobby off Peachtree Street with Land of a Thousand Hills coffee and bakery, Alma Cocina restaurant, the Commerce Club on the 49th floor, and access to the Ritz Carlton’s food and beverage program next door. Banyan heads are also compiling plans to renovate the lobby to create more gathering places for tenants and upgrade the building’s food-and-beverage offerings.  

Bisnow Atlanta reported in July that metro Atlanta’s office vacancy rate had ticked over 28 percent, or 173.5-million square feet, setting a new record for empty office spaces. However, Zac Gruber, president of Banyan’s office division, said demand for office space increased in the second half of 2023 at 191 Peachtree “when many competitive properties [struggled] with pending maturities and liquidity issues.” Gruber called the tower in today’s announcement “one of the best capitalized office properties in downtown, with material term left on our loan and ample reserves built up to deal with future leasing.”

Banyan’s spec suite program is also being implemented at 191 Peachtree, which offers pre-built and speculative office suites. Two of three spec suites on the 40th floor were leased as part of recent transactions, while four more are being marketed on the 37th floor.

Courtesy of Banyan Street Capital

Gruber said the tactic is paying off, in that Banyan is tallying as much as 30 percent of “the new leasing absorption in submarkets where we are most aggressive.” The company counts an 11-million-square-foot portfolio overall.  

Here’s a rundown of the six leases recently signed at 191 Peachtree downtown, edited for space:

  • Integral (13,599 square feet), a real estate development and investment firm focused on the revitalization and enhancement of urban communities;
  • Coxe Curry (11,719), a fundraising consulting firm serving nonprofit organizations throughout Georgia;
  • Daspit Law (5,003), a personal injury law firm;  
  • Durham Law Group (4,275), a personal injury law firm;
  • Mones Law (2,391 RSF), a criminal defense and civil law firm;
  • Tull Charitable Foundation (2,381 RSF); The R. Howard Dobbs Jr. Foundation; and the Sartain Lanier Family Foundation. The three foundations “benefit from the collaboration and community feel of a shared office, while also saving on expenses,” per Banyan officials.   

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