Last week a ‘mystery buyer’ was the sole bidder on the 9.3 acres that comprise the ‘Gulch,’ a stretch of parking lots and vacant space below Philips Arena and CNN Center in downtown Atlanta. The bid was for $15 million, to be paid to the State Properties Commission, which is in charge of acquisition and disposition of state property.
It was later revealed that the bidder is the Los Angeles-based CIM Group, long rumored to be interested in the site. A key connection – one of the principals at CIM is Richard Ressler, brother of new Atlanta Hawks owner Anthony Ressler, who has not been shy about his interest in revitalizing the area around Philips Arena, including the $192.5 million stadium renovation that saw $142.5 million come from public funds – namely rental car taxes and money from the city’s sale of Turner Field.
The CIM Group last year purchased the old Norfolk Southern buildings which sit adjacent to the Gulch for $25 million.
With plans for 9 million sq. feet of office space, many observers are looking at the bid as another hint that Amazon may be choosing Atlanta as its home for the company’s new HQ 2. Part of its requirements in selecting a new host is 8,000,000 Sq. Ft. of office space, a total that would be hard to find within city limits. Either CIM is confident that they can fill up 9 million feet, quite the ask considering many downtown high-rises have had vacancy issues for years, or they have some reason to believe that Amazon is headed to the South.
That being said CIM has been circling South downtown since before Amazon had even announced their intentions to open a second headquarters, so don’t pop that champagne quite yet. Washington D.C. and its northern suburbs are considered the other frontrunner for the tech giant, which is expected to make a final decision later this year. Georgia Governor Nathan Deal has already stated that should Amazon put Georgia in its final group of candidates, he would be willing to call the General Assembly in for a special session to discuss potential incentive and tax packages to help lure the company to the Peach State.
