(ATLANTA) – The Atlanta office of Hines, the international real estate firm, announced today that the national law firm Alston & Bird LLP has signed a lease to expand into an additional 134,000 square feet in One Atlantic Center.
This will increase their total occupancy in the building to 365,000 square feet.
Located at the Gateway to Midtown, One Atlantic Center is a 50-story, 1.1 million-square-foot office tower.
The Alston & Bird lease term will be reset for 18 years.
Currently, the firm occupies 10 floors, and will expand into 16 total floors.
They will consolidate their 450 Atlanta attorneys into One Atlantic Center as their headquarters, relocating many from the adjacent Atlantic Center Plaza building.
Alston & Bird’s lease, coupled with the property’s completion of an additional 87,000 square feet of new leases in 2010, bring One Atlantic Center to more than 91 percent leased.
Hines’ commitment to improving One Atlantic Center for the benefit of all of the tenants includes an expansion of the building’s amenity offerings through a complete concourse renovation, with a new gourmet café, and the addition of a 2,500-square-foot fitness center and state-of-the-art conference center.
Alston & Bird was represented in lease negotiations by Andrew Ghertner, Ian Henderson and John Izard of Cushman & Wakefield of Georgia.
Hines was self-represented by Mark Ferris, Tori Kerr and John Heagy.
“Hines is delighted to be able to continue and expand our partnership with Alston & Bird – both organizations are dedicated to superior customer service, outstanding quality and industry leadership,” said Hines Group Manager Mark Ferris.
“Solidifying Alston & Bird’s commitment to One Atlantic Center represents another key step in our strategic partnership in Midtown for the long term.”
“Alston & Bird is very pleased to have completed this transaction with Hines.
We believe that One Atlantic Center is one of the premiere office buildings in the country and that its location in Midtown is ideal for us.
We are very happy to be consolidating into One Atlantic Center and very happy to be remaining at this location for quite some time.
The stability of the ownership/management team that Hines offers is also very important to us,” said Mark Rusche, partner at Alston & Bird who handles the Firm's real estate requirements nationwide.
One Atlantic Center was acquired in 2006 by the Hines U.S. Core Office Fund LP.
Under Hines’ management, the tower received Silver certification through the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED® rating system for Existing Buildings (EB), as well as the ENERGY STAR® label in 2008 and 2009 for the first time in the building’s 20-year history.
Hines entered the Atlanta real estate market in 1982 with Ravinia in the Perimeter submarket, where the firm’s Southeast regional headquarters is located.
Hines’ Southeast-area portfolio of owned and managed properties currently exceeds six million square feet.
ABOUT ALSTON & BIRD
With 800 attorneys, Alston & Bird is a leading national AmLaw 100 firm.
The firm’s core practice areas are intellectual property, complex litigation, corporate and tax, with national industry focuses in health care, energy, financial services and public policy.
The firm has built a reputation as one of the country’s best employers, appearing on FORTUNE magazine’s ranking of the “100 Best Companies to Work For” 12 years in a row, more often than any other law firm in the United States.
The firm has offices in Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York, Research Triangle, N.C., Silicon Valley, Ventura County and Washington, D.C.
ABOUT HINES
Hines is a privately owned real estate firm involved in real estate investment, development and property management worldwide. The firm’s historical and current portfolio of projects that are underway, completed, acquired and managed for third parties includes 1,119 properties representing more than 457 million square feet of office, residential, mixed-use, industrial, hotel, medical and sports facilities, as well as large, master-planned communities and land developments. With offices in more than 100 cities in 17 countries, and controlled assets valued at approximately $23 billion, Hines is one of the largest real estate organizations in the world. Hines is also a world leader in sustainable real estate strategies, with extensive experience in the LEED®, ENERGY STAR®, BREEAM, Haute Qualité Environnementale and DGNB green building rating systems. Visit www.hines.com for more information.