This week marks a year since project leaders declared that one of Atlanta’s tallest buildings had cleared a “major milestone” in the quest to convert it to new uses, on a scale large enough to change surrounding blocks downtown. 

Twelve months later, and with 2026 FIFA World Cup festivities just 132 days away, no visible work is underway at Georgia-Pacific Center. But behind the scenes, progress on the complex adaptive-reuse venture is steady; and despite fears expressed by armchair development sleuths on this website, the planned conversion is anything but D.O.A., project leaders tell Urbanize Atlanta. 

“Work on the proposed redevelopment of the Georgia-Pacific Center and the adjacent block is progressing, with the team advancing the various components of a project of this scale,” Suzanne Maynard, project lead for Georgia-Pacific, relayed in a statement this week.  

“While there are no new updates to share yet,” Maynard continued, “we’re excited by the progress and remain focused on reimagining this prominent downtown site in a way that brings the neighborhood together, enhances connectivity, and creates lasting value for the city.”

Georgia-Pacific Center's south facade, with its distinctive stair-stepped design pointed east, as seen roughly six years ago. Courtesy of Chil & Co for Georgia-Pacific

Atlanta’s Office of Zoning and Development early last year approved a Special Administrative Permit that cleared the way for redevelopment of the 51-story landmark at 133 Peachtree St. The project marks one of the most ambitious—and ostensibly expensive—post-pandemic office conversions announced in the city. It had initially been unveiled in September 2024. 

Standing 697 feet tall, the world headquarters of Atlanta-based pulp and paper giant Georgia-Pacific is now the seventh-tallest skyscraper in the city and one of the most recognizable, with its pink granite exterior and dramatic, stair-stepped rear design and changeable lighting patterns facing east. 

The Class A office tower, totaling 1.3 million square feet today, was opened in 1982.

According to project leaders and advocates, the scope of the proposed mixed-use conversion is big enough to spark a renaissance of commerce and activity in the building’s section of downtown, where office vacancies have been historically high in recent years. It’s been described by Georgia-Pacific’s development team as one of the largest office building makeovers in the U.S. today. 

The proposal calls for more than 400 apartments to be created from offices on the tower’s uppermost floors, resulting in some of the highest residential units offered across the Southeast, according to project reps. 

Other notable aspects of the remade Georgia-Pacific tower would include a landscaped, MARTA-connected central plaza spanning 35,000 square feet, facing Peachtree Street along the Atlanta Streetcar line. 

Elsewhere would be roughly 125,000 square feet of fresh restaurant, entertainment, and retail spaces that blend “modern design with the building’s historic presence,” project officials have said. 

Ground-level conditions on the north side of the Georgia-Pacific tower today. Google Maps

Where a planned 125,000 square feet of restaurant, retail, and entertainment space could help inject life into Peachtree Street downtown. Courtesy of Georgia-Pacific

Another component would see 600,000 square feet of Class A offices anchored by Georgia-Pacific and Koch Inc., with more than 2,100 parking spaces in the mix.

As of last February, plans called for breaking ground in 2025 and delivering the reimagined property in the fall of 2027. No revised timeline is currently available, per project reps. 

The Skidmore, Owings & Merrill firm originally designed the structure, with pink granite quarried in Marble Falls, Texas. 

Georgia-Pacific’s development today team includes Rule Joy Trammell + Rubio (architect of record), Healy Weatherholtz (retail broker), Kimley-Horn (civil engineering), Studio Saint (interior design), Transwestern (consulting and property management), Brasfield & Gorrie (preconstruction), and Studios (design architect).

When the project was announced a year and ½ ago, Christian Fischer, then Georgia-Pacific's president and CEO, said his company is “acutely aware of the need for more residential, shopping, dining, and entertainment options in our downtown neighborhood,” while Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens called the proposal “transformative” and a significant step toward breathing new life into downtown.

According to officials, all plans detailed so far are considered phase one, as enough space will be left for future development that could include a hotel, plus more retail and residences.

In the gallery above, find more context and imagery for the Georgia-Pacific proposal. 

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