Exploring the financial, social, and urban case for adaptive reuse in downtown Atlanta.

In Part 1, we shared our adaptive reuse architectural design vision for Marquis One and Two at Peachtree Center: a bold, community-driven concept to transform two underused office towers into vertical neighborhoods for nearly 1,000 residents. Now, we turn to the other side of the story: the numbers, assumptions, and practical considerations that make the concept viable.

Does it work on paper?

We fully modeled the conversion, drawing on construction cost data, lease-up timelines, and current market assumptions. This isn’t just a bold design concept. It’s a practical strategy with long-term value for investors and meaningful impact for downtown Atlanta.

Downtown Atlanta's Moment of Opportunity

Downtown Atlanta is at a pivotal juncture. While investment is flowing into new developments like Centennial Yards and the surrounding South Downtown district, much of the city’s core remains underutlized, with office towers that no longer match today's demand. Marquis One and Two, two of Peachtree Center’s most prominent towers, are emblematic of that disconnect. With a prime location, strong bones, and direct access to transit, they're the kind of legacy asset that many cities are now reevaluating, outdated for offices, but full of potential for new uses.

That potential is not just theoretical. According to recent market data, office vacancy in downtown Atlanta reached 24.8 percent in Q2 of 2025, making it one of the softest submarkets in the Southeast. Within Peachtree Center, the picture is even more fragmented. According to recent offering materials from a national brokerage, occupancy rates across the towers range from just 8% to 74%. The gaps are visible and growing at a time when downtown needs more density, more housing, and more life.

This story isn’t unique to Atlanta. From San Francisco to Chicago to Philadelphia, cities are grappling with the same pressures: hybrid work, rising construction costs, and shifting tenant preferences. Buildings that once promised stable leases and predictable returns now sit half-empty, straining budgets and pulling energy from their neighborhoods.

Pressure can be a catalyst, and, in this moment, when demand for housing is rising and surplus office space is everywhere, it presents an opening.

What if buildings like Marquis One and Two aren’t problems to solve, but opportunities to imagine what comes next?

Repositioning these towers could help rebalance downtown toward residents, families, and local businesses. Because the buildings already exist, the path to impact is faster than it would be for new construction. That timing matters. By the time the 2026 World Cup comes to Atlanta, the question won’t be whether the city is ready, but what story downtown is telling.

Atlanta's Opening for Adaptive Reuse

Atlanta isn’t just reacting to change; it’s building toward something. Over the past year, a visible shift has taken place as incentives, zoning tools, and policy support are beginning to align around adaptive reuse as a viable solution to downtown vacancies and housing shortages.

In March 2024, Central Atlanta Progress and the City of Atlanta released the Downtown Atlanta Conversion Study, outlining the potential to reposition underused office buildings as new housing, especially those with central locations, transit access, and structurally adaptable floor plates. Peachtree Center fits that profile. The report confirmed what many suspected: this opportunity isn’t just theoretical. It’s tangible, actionable, and timely.

Public-sector momentum is meeting private-sector urgency. Invest Atlanta's RFQ for 2 Peachtree Street is one example, a call to redevelop one of the city's most iconic towers into a mixed-income residential hub. Moves like this signal a broader commitment to shaping a more livable, inclusive downtown. Housing diversity, pedestrian access, and economic resiliency are no longer policy aspirations. They are the goals.

Meanwhile, the media is picking up on the shift. Urbanize Atlanta has profiled the city's growing reputation for office-to-residential projects that serve families and workforce renters, not just luxury tenants. These aren’t fringe experiments. They’re becoming part of Atlanta’s long-term strategy.

Check out cove's Atlanta affordable housing redevelopment project in Urbanize Atlanta.

Compared to peer cities experimenting with conversions, like Los Angeles, Philadelphia, or Houston, Atlanta's advantage is scale. Thanks to favorable zoning, existing infrastructure, and strong alignment across public and private sectors, this is the kind of moment that can acceleate real change.

Proving the Financial Case for Adaptive Reuse

Adaptive reuse isn't only about design. It can also be a financially sound strategy, especially in downtown markets where vacancy is high and housing demand continues to rise.

Our team modeled a full-scale conversion of Marquis One and Two to test the feasibility of the design concept introduced in Part 1. Using real construction cost benchmarks, conservative lease-up timelines, and current policy incentives, the study explores how over 800 new residential units, a mix of studios, one-bedrooms, and two-bedroom home could be created within the existing tower footprints.

While this is not an investment offering, this internal study provides early results that point to a very strong foundation for further exploration. Based on the assumptions modeled, the concept supports:

• 15.2% internal rate of return (IRR) with a 2.31x equity multiple over a 10-year hold

• $265 million total development cost, including approximately $48 million in incentives through tax credits and other programs

• 66.6% stabilized operating margin, made possible by lower capex and efficient building reuse

• Eligibility for green and historic financing, thanks to reduced embodied carbon and preservation of key structures

We stress-tested these assumptions with cost and timeline sensitivity analyses. Even with more conservative inputs, the investment profile remains holds up, offering the kind of risk-adjusted return that’s becoming harder to find in today’s market.

At a time when many downtown assets are stalling, this model helps illustrate how a thoughtful, data-informed strategy could bring them back online with speed, purpose, and long-term value.

Unit Mix Strategy

The proposed unit mix of compact studios to larger two-bedroom apartments is more than just a design choice. It responds directly to gaps in Atlanta’s current housing supply and reflects the types of residents who are most likely to live, work, and stay downtown.

Studios for the Emerging Urban Workforce

The smaller units are designed for early-career professionals, contract workers, and others who prioritize location, access, and flexibility over square footage. These studios offer efficient layouts and shared amenities that support faster lease-up, broader accessibility, and a more active urban core.

Larger Units for Stability and Long-Term Living

Including one- and two-bedroom apartments creates balance in the overall mix. These homes can serve roommates, couples, or small families who are more likely to stay longer and build roots in the neighborhood. With on-site services, like onsite childcare, and community spaces, these units offer the foundation for a livable and resilient downtown.

Together, this mix supports housing access across income levels, encourages demographic diversity, and builds a stronger foundation for long-term resident retention. It blends short-term flexibility with longer-term stability, both of which are essential to a healthy, thriving downtown.

Social Return on Investment

New residents create foot traffic, enough to support local coffee shops, lunch spots, and retail that depend on daily activity to stay open. On-site coworking and childcare extend that activity throughout the day, not just in the evenings. It's a steady pulse where vacancy once left a void.

A conversion like this supports downtown housing goals by adding walkable, transit-connected units in a way that’s faster and more resource-efficient than new construction.

This type of conversion adds walkable, transit-connected housing faster and more efficiently than new construction — supporting downtown goals for livability and growth.

Unlike many conversions, this concept is intentionally more inclusive. The mix of unit sizes, shared spaces, and amenities is designed to support a range of income levels, life stages, and household types.

The goal is not just occupancy. It’s community.

The Role of Vitras.ai

Vitras.ai played a key role in shaping this study. Our proprietary AI engine tested floor plan configurations, optimized unit layouts, and assessed site characteristics that influence livability and investment performance.

We used it to assess:

• Unit pack and floor plan efficiencies

• Natural light access and view corridors

• Proximity to jobs, schools, and culture

• Transit and walkability scores

• Embodied carbon savings from reuse

Vitras.ai helped our team align feasibility, design, and financial assumptions within days by simulating multiple scenarios in real time. That gave us a well-rounded foundation for conversations with developers, city leaders, and other partners interested in bringing this concept to life.

Beyond the numbers, Vitras.ai also supports early-stage planning with a more human-centered lens. Its tools help us explore how community needs might influence design, from flexible living for young professionals to layout considerations for working families or support spaces for small business activity. These insights bridge design vision with the lived experiences of future residents.

Optimizing plans is just the start. The real goal is designing with intention, guided by data, shaped by people, and grounded in what’s possible.

Why This Matters Now 

The 2026 World Cup will bring global attention to Atlanta. As the city welcomes fans, media, and investors, downtown becomes a stage to show what's possible. Adaptive reuse offers a chance to lead with design, intention, and environmental intelligence.

Peachtree Center is especially well-suited to this moment. Its origins as a bold mid-century experiment in downtown life make it an ideal place to model a new era of urban living—one that keeps what works, fixes what doesn’t, and invites more people in.

Across the country, cities are rethinking how their downtowns work. Conversions are gaining momentum; nearly 71,000 new apartment units are projected to come online through office-to-residential conversion by the end of 2025 across the U.S., more than triple the number created in 2022. These projects now make up over 40 percent of all adaptive reuse housing nationwide. 

Downtown Atlanta is at a turning point. Vacancy is rising, but so is the potential for change. This isn't a one-off idea. It’s a replicable strategy, grounded in real world constraints, that brings architecture, financial modeling, and community needs together. With the right lens, even a familiar building can help define a new future for the city.

A Vision With Building

This is more than a concept on paper. It’s a strategy for repositioning downtown real estate through design thinking, financial modeling, and smart use of technology. It asks a bigger question: What kind of downtown does Atlanta want to build next?

We believe adaptive reuse isn’t just a design challenge. It’s a chance to reset expectations, reinvest in the memory and culture of the city, and create long-term civic value. Peachtree Center is one way to explore that potential by imagining a future that is both grounded and ambitious.