ATLANTA, GA– Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE: CUZ) will help meet the surging demand for data center and IT operation space with a downtown Atlanta building that once housed the headquarters of the 1996 Olympic Games.
Cousins is repurposing 170,000 square feet inside 250 Williams Street, also known as the American Cancer Society Center (middle right photo), from offices into data center space that will host computer servers and other hardware that power websites, crunch data and store information.
The moves should attract even more data centers to downtown Atlanta, a growing technology submarket. Regionwide, metro Atlanta already has parlayed its robust fiber infrastructure and a reliable power grid to snag more than 50 centers.To attract new technology tenants to 250 Williams Street, Cousins has entered into a relationship with Colliers Technology Solutions. The Colliers team is skilled at understanding the high-tech needs of CIOs and their companies, including data center services.
The team is led by Tim Huffman (middle left photo), executive vice president and global director of the technology division, who has years of experience in data centers and managed services.
The one-million-square-foot American Cancer Society Center already is on the Georgia Power Fowler Network underground grid system, which has been a highly reliable source of power.
It also sits on a fiber ring with N+1 redundancy and features extensive fiber optics in all corners of the building. The building also is served by more than 27 fiber network providers, who supply the IP network infrastructure that is critical to data center operations.
Technology users have multiple locations for back-up generators, ample fuel storage and an advanced security system. The building can support IT operations with a 100-pound floor load per square foot, 12 to 14 foot ceiling heights, and multiple freight elevators and loading docks. These amenities could be considered surprising for an urban, non-industrial building in the heart of downtown Atlanta.
Purpose-built by John Portman & Associates, the nine-story building opened in 1989 as a computer mart, and was used by IBM and HP to display computer products. It later became Class A offices for Bellsouth.
The Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games chose the building for its headquarters, and for good reason: It’s located across the street from Centennial Olympic Park (lower left photo), the nexus of entertainment venues for the Games. InComm and Internap are both longtime tenants.
Contact:
Suzanne Rutledge
Jackson Spalding for Cousins Properties
