Atlanta’s Piedmont Center Bought in Foreclosure Auction

Piedmont Center, Buckhead’s largest office complex, changed hands in a foreclosure sale, marking one of Atlanta’s biggest distressed deals of the year and a significant reset in the city’s office market.

An affiliate of Austria’s Bawag Group placed the winning bid at a Fulton County courthouse auction Tuesday, paying $200 million in cash for the 2.2 million-square-foot, 14-building complex, the Atlanta Business Chronicle reported.

That pencils out to roughly $90 per square foot, a serious skid from the $299 per foot valuation the property held in 2021 when former owner Ardent Companies assembled a $330.8 million debt package.

Bawag partnered on the acquisition with CP Group, one of Atlanta’s largest landlords. CP Group confirmed the transaction was an all-cash deal but declined to comment on the ownership structure. Bawag in May took control of the debt, which it had a stake in, after Morgan Stanley filed to foreclose on Ardent for defaulting on the loan earlier this year.

CP Group plans to reposition the 46-acre campus as a “hospitality-driven” office hub, citing plans to revamp lobbies, create conference centers, expand fitness and amenity areas and bring in food and beverage concepts.

CP founding partner Chris Eachus called the site’s size and location a “rare opportunity to reimagine a legacy campus for the future.”

The firm has a track record of executing on office turnarounds. In 2022, CP Group acquired Bank of America Plaza, Atlanta’s tallest tower, and has since landed major tenants including law firm Eversheds Sutherland. It’s also redeveloping the former CNN Center downtown, rebranded as The Center.

For CP Group, it’s another bet on Atlanta’s rebound. For the city, it’s a signal that while pain still lingers in the office market, capital is circling.

The sale of Piedmont Center follows a broader pattern of institutional landlords scooping up troubled assets in Sun Belt cities. JLL, which marketed the complex, called it a “generational redevelopment opportunity” made feasible by the sharp drop in pricing tied to post-pandemic vacancy, rate hikes and shifting tenant preferences.

— Judah Duke