ATLANTA
(Sept. 16, 2010) - Legendary Atlanta dealmaker Dick Bowers probably wants dance a jig on Peachtree Street today.
Fresh
off refinancing 270 Peachtree, he's signed CredAbility, formerly
the Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Greater Atlanta, to 40,000 square feet
at the office tower. The agency that helps educate consumers about how to use and repair credit, will
relocate its headquarters and corporate offices from the United Way Building at 100 Edgewood
Ave. in January.
CredAbility will retain a walk-up service office at the United Way building.
CreaPartners
represented CredAbility in the lease. Greg Kindred and Jenna Schulten of
Richard Bowers and Co. represented their boss, who owns the tower that at one time housed Southern Co.'s headquarters.
The
news was released minutes ago. Here's the official press release.
CredAbility to Move Headquarters to 270
Peachtree Street in Downtown Atlanta
ATLANTA, GA, September 16, 2010 — CredAbility today
announced that it will move its downtown Atlanta headquarters to 270 Peachtree
Street by Jan. 1, 2011. The national nonprofit credit counseling and education
organization, which now has its headquarters in the United Way of Metropolitan
Atlanta building at 100 Edgewood Avenue, has signed a 10-year lease to occupy
three floors in the building.
CredAbility, which has doubled in size to approximately 550 employees over the past three years, will lease the 17th, 18th and 19th floors at 270 Peachtree Street. CredAbility will occupy slightly more than 40,000 square feet of office space, which is approximately 30 percent more than it has in its current location.
About 200 of the organization’s Atlanta-based employees are expected to work at the new location, including its senior executives, the information technology, finance, development, human resources and external affairs departments, along with some of its client service representatives, counselors and educators. Most of the organization’s remaining metro Atlanta employees will continue to work at one of the agency’s two other principal offices, located at 3100 Interstate North Circle in Cobb County and 2160 Satellite Boulevard in Gwinnett County.
After the move, CredAbility will maintain office space at 100 Edgewood Avenue, where it will continue to provide in-person credit counseling services.
The new location provides CredAbility with several important benefits. As a former headquarters building for Georgia Power, 270 Peachtree has an onsite data center, which provides the organization with a secure source of power and high-level security for its data. CredAbility provided confidential counseling and education services to more than 754,000 people in all 50 states in 2009, making data security a critical need.
In addition, several upgrades have been made to the building’s mechanical, heating and air conditioning systems. Closer access to MARTA via the Peachtree Center station will also provide the organization’s employees with more transportation options.
“Consumers across the nation count on us to be available 24/7,” said Suzanne Boas, CredAbility’s president. “The 270 Peachtree Street building meets our critical technology and infrastructure needs while also enabling us to remain in downtown Atlanta and continue to be an important part of the community,” she said.
Boas stressed that CredAbility will maintain strong ties with United Way. The two organizations have a long history of working together to provide critically needed services to low- and moderate-income residents of Atlanta. CredAbility has maintained offices in the United Way building since the early 1980s.
“We have a long and valuable partnership with United Way that will continue to thrive, especially now, during a period when so many people in metro Atlanta need social services to provide food, shelter, clothing and financial education for their families,” she said.
Boas said it was important that the agency’s national headquarters remain in downtown Atlanta. CredAbility has been based here since it was founded in 1964 as the Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Greater Atlanta.
“Although we provide service to families in need across the United States, we remain firmly committed to a strong presence in, and support for, the communities we serve. We have many partnerships with businesses, government agencies, foundations and other nonprofit organizations that are based downtown,” she said. “It’s important for us to stay close to these organizations and make them, their clients and their employees aware of the benefits of nonprofit credit counseling and education.”
CresaPartners assisted CredAbility in the research and negotiations for its new headquarters. “We were careful to negotiate lease rights that will protect CredAbility over the long term,” said Bob Misdom, Vice President with CresaPartners. “It was a win-win for the new tenant and the building’s owner.”
Senior Vice President Greg Kindred and Jenna Schulten represented the owner of the building, Richard Bowers & Company. Richard Bowers & Company recently received a multiyear extension and refinancing for the debt secured by the 270 Peachtree Street building, formerly known as Southern Company Center. The company also owns the adjacent building at 260 Peachtree Street.
“CredAbility is the clear leader in the nonprofit credit counseling and education sector and we are extremely pleased that they chose 270 Peachtree for their new headquarters,” said Greg Kindred, Senior Vice President with Richard Bowers & Company. Kindred said CredAbility will join Habitat for Humanity, another national nonprofit organization, as tenants in the building.
About CredAbility
CredAbility is one of the leading nonprofit
credit counseling and education agencies in the United States, serving clients
in all 50 states plus the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico and the US
Virgin Islands, in both English and Spanish. In addition to providing
counseling via telephone and internet, CredAbility operates 28 offices across
the southeast, including 25 offices where people can receive in-person
counseling.
Founded in 1964, CredAbility is a family of Consumer Credit Counseling Service agencies that includes CCCS of Greater Atlanta, CCCS of Central Florida and the Florida Gulf Coast, CCCS of Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast, CCCS of East Tennessee and CCCS of Jackson (Mississippi).
The nonprofit agency is accredited by the Council on Accreditation and is a member of the Better Business Bureau and the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC). Governed by a community-based board of directors, CredAbility is funded by creditors, clients, contributors and grants from foundations, businesses and government agencies. Service is provided 24/7 by phone at 800.251.2227 and online at www.CredAbility.org.
About CresaPartners
CresaPartners is an international corporate real estate advisory firm that
exclusively represents tenants and specializes in the delivery of fully
integrated real estate services, including: Transaction Management, Project Management,
Relocation Planning and Management, Strategic Planning, Workforce and Location
Planning, Subleases and Dispositions, Lease Administration, Capital Markets,
Sustainability, Supply Chain and Facilities Management. With more than 50
offices, CresaPartners is the largest tenant representation firm in North
America. Internationally, CresaPartners covers more than 125 locations in 35
countries. For more information, visit www.cresapartners.com.
About Richard Bowers & Co.
Established in 1980 and headquartered in its flagship property of 260 Peachtree
Street in Atlanta, Richard Bowers & Co. is the largest independently owned
commercial real estate firm in Metropolitan Atlanta. A member of TCN
Worldwide—a national affiliation of real estate firms—the company represents
tenants, landlords and owners in office, industrial, and retail sales and
leasing, land and investment sales, financial services, relocation services,
interior design, construction management, property management and development.
Affiliated companies include Facilitec, RB Management and Office Interiors.
Represented clients include numerous FORTUNE 500 companies, regional and
national headquarters, professional firms and major institutions. The company
has completed more than 10,000 property sales and leasing requirements totaling
more than 80 million square feet of space since its inception. For more information, visit www.richardbowers.com.
# # #
CONTACTS:
Scott Scredon (404) 653.8833 / Scott.Scredon@CredAbility.org
John McCosh (404) 260.3108 / John.McCosh@CredAbility.org
Credability is an excellent company for any consumer credit counseling needs that you may have. In the past I have also used http://www.debtguru.com and I have been so happy with both of these companies.
Posted by: lilly adams | November 09, 2010 at 09:41 AM