Georgia-Pacific LLC, Atlanta, Ga., USA, this week announced a change in ownership of the Georgia-Pacific Center, its 52-story, iconic downtown Atlanta headquarters building. G-P and MetLife have split ownership of the building through a joint venture since its construction in 1982. The transaction now places MetLife's interest with an affiliate of G-P's parent company Koch Industries Inc. 

 

"With Atlanta's central location, good cost-of-living and desirable talent pool, downtown has been a great home base for us for more than 30 years," said Jim Hannan, G-P's CEO and president.

 

The sale includes MetLife's share of the 1.1 million square-foot building and the parking garage behind the tower.

Plans to keep the building multi-tenant will remain. More than 2,500 G-P employees occupy the majority of the office space. Retailers and other professional services companies are also housed in the building. Bearing the blue Georgia-Pacific logo, the 52-story skyscraper is an iconic part of Atlanta's skyline and was widely praised as a pioneering step in the revitalization of downtown in the 1980s.

 

Known for its stair-stepped façade of "sunset red" granite, Georgia-Pacific Center sits on the former site of the Loew's Grand Theatre where "Gone with the Wind" premiered in 1939. With neighbors including Georgia State University, the Westin Peachtree Plaza, and Peachtree Center MARTA Station, it is conveniently situated in the heart of downtown's business and commercial district.

 

In 2012, Georgia-Pacific Center achieved LEED Silver Certification by the U.S. Green Building Council, marking its sustainable operation.

G-P and its subsidiaries are producers of bath tissue, paper towels, and napkins, tableware, paper-based packaging, office papers, cellulose, specialty fibers, nonwoven fabrics, building products, and related chemicals. The company employs approximately 35,000 people directly, and creates nearly 130,000 jobs indirectly.