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UrbanizeAtlNewsBot@yall.theatl.social

For reborn CNN Center, new visuals, promo video paint vivid picture Josh Green Wed, 03/12/2025 - 10:22 South Downtown streets and Centennial Yards aren’t the only places brewing redevelopment plans downtown as 2026 FIFA World Cup matches inch closer.

The former CNN Center—or downtown’s “repositioned commercial beacon” now called simply The Center—has signed a sizable restaurant, inked a partnership with Savannah College of Art and Design, and put together a fresh promotional package as redevelopment moves forward, officials announced today.

The project, stylized in fresh visuals as “The CTR ATL,” will include a large interactive digital sculpture where the recognizable CNN letters once stood at street level, a variety of custom murals, and other installations within The Center’s atrium—all facets moving forward with SCAD input. (A sizzle reel was also released today by owners CP Group that helps bring new and previously released renderings to life.)

Elsewhere on the property, CP Group has “secured a confidential high-end restaurant tenant” that will claim nearly 10,000 square feet of space, per officials.

On the art front, CP Group is also partnering with local creatives Neda Abghari and Bem Joiner to help curate Atlanta-specific artworks for the property, to boost its sense of place.

Plans for The Center’s revised Marietta Street facade.Courtesy of CP Group

Courtesy of CP Group; via Vimeo

We’ve asked project officials for more specifics regarding construction timelines and delivery of any aspects of The Center (the World Cup is just 460 days away, after all), and we’ll post any additional information that comes.

Officials did say additional updates will be released later this year. CP Group is working with architecture and interior design firm TVS, general contractor Holder Construction, and marketing firm Core Twelve for branding of The Center.

CNN departed the 1.2-million-square-foot building last year and stripped off its branding as its offices were moved to Midtown’s Techwood, ending a four-decade era of the media company being headquartered downtown.

CP Group announced plans in April to remake the 1970s landmark known for its soaring atrium into a modernized hub of dining, retail, entertainment, and content creation.

Building permit paperwork filed with the city last year indicates the first phase of renovations would see exterior façade improvements at the former CNN Center’s north and south entries.

Courtesy of CP Group

Courtesy of CP Group; via Vimeo

Elsewhere, a new social area called “Hawks Plaza” is in the works for the building’s southernmost entry, nearest to State Farm Arena’s main entrance, according to marketing materials. Connected to that would be a remade atrium and reimagined retail corridors leading to arenas, the recently renovated Omni hotel, and downtown lynchpin Georgia World Congress Center.

CP Group’s renovations call for 130,000 square feet of retail space, alongside 920,000 square feet of creative office and media production spaces, officials said last year. It’s all part of a massive portfolio the Boca Raton, Fla.-based company has amassed in Atlanta in recent years.

Find a sneak peek at the latest visuals in the gallery above.

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