The tallest building in the Southeastern United States, Bank of America Plaza in Atlanta, has for years struggled with elevated vacancy rates and what some residents have called an outdated 1990s design.

But Chris Eachus at CP Group, owner of the building since March 2022, said his firm has a plan to fix that — and to try to buck the trend of some high-profile towers around the country failing to revive demand after big upgrades.

CP Group is spending at least $60 million to renovate the 55-story tower. It ripped out the original lobby flooring and plans to replace it with Italian marble. Elevator vestibules are getting curved ceilings. Brokers are searching for a top-flight restaurant to occupy space near the lobby. Though safety and structural concerns may prevent it, a rooftop deck is a possibility. And the company converted four floors to speculative office suites and has secured leases on a third of the available space.

The decision to create a large supply of speculative suites is a smart one, said Kirk Rich, principal at brokerage Avison Young, who is not involved with leasing at Bank of America Plaza.

“You really need an inventory of model suites and quick-delivery offices” like speculative suites, said Rich, who directs office leasing at Tower Square, a recently refurbished office tower across North Avenue from Bank of America Plaza. “You can use those to do shorter deals until the tenant has confidence to stay for the long term. A three-year lease will often turn into a five-year or seven-year lease."

CP Group is rolling the dice during an uncertain time for the office market. Landlords and investors are grappling with excess space and high vacancy rates as a result of workers' resistance to giving up remote work schedules. Job cuts in the tech industry might extend the pain.

Owners are well aware that some investors and developers have struggled to improve office occupancy even after renovations at landmark buildings.

Developer 601W Cos. recently completed a gut rehab of Canal Station in Chicago, the former home of financial consultant Northern Trust's offices. But the 680,000-square-foot office building remains mostly empty. 601W Cos. did not respond to CoStar News' request to comment.

The renovation of 2 Penn Place in New York was completed last year, according to CoStar News, but is 85.8% vacant, according to CoStar data. Vornado Realty Trust, owner of 2 Penn Place, also did not respond to a request to comment.

In Dallas, Goddard Investment Group renovated the 58-story Fountain Place in 2019, adding a new lobby, outdoor plaza and conference center, according to CoStar News. The property is now 60% leased, and the owners "are in discussions with several tenants for additional space," Quito Anderson, chief investment officer at Goddard, said in an interview.

The 75-story JPMorgan Chase Tower in downtown Houston — the tallest building in Texas at 1,002 feet — was built in 1981 and designed by architect I.M. Pei. It's now about 87% occupied, CoStar data shows, after Hines completed a significant renovation of the 1.65-million-square-foot tower in 2021 that included redesigning the outdoor plaza and first-floor lobby with a glass pyramid at the entrance inspired by the Louvre Museum in Paris.

CP Group, based in Boca Raton, Florida, has a track record of bringing life back to office buildings saddled with dated designs, albeit on a smaller scale than Bank of America Plaza. The company spent $4 million to renovate Ashford Perimeter in Atlanta after State Farm vacated 200,000 square feet. The upgrades paid dividends when CP Group leased most of the former State Farm space to Enterprise Holdings, parent of Enterprise Rent-A-Car.

But in Bank of America Plaza, CP Group may face its toughest challenge. Completed in 1992 as NationsBank Plaza, the 1,023-foot Bank of America Plaza instantly became an Atlanta landmark thanks to its unusual pencil-shaped steel lattice on the roof. Some Atlantans think the rust-colored latticework, designed by architects Kevin Roche and John Dinkeloo, resembles the steel structure of the Eiffel Tower.

Bank of America Plaza was in high demand during its early years, with its vacancy rate hovering in the single digits between 1995 and 2006, according to Rhea Stephen, senior director of market analytics at CoStar Group. In 1998 and 1999, the vacancy rate was below 1%.

The exodus of tenants accelerated in 2007. The vacancy rate surpassed 20% in 2010, peaking at 59.2% in 2015. Things have slowly improved over the past decade, with the rate now at 35.7%.

CP Group has the advantage of two large tenants locked into long-term leases, with law firm Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders occupying 201,000 square feet and Bank of America leasing 183,000 square feet.

CP Group and its brokers at CBRE need to secure a handful of tenants taking large blocks of space, considering that Bank of America Plaza totals 1.4 million square feet, said Chris Ahrenkiel, executive vice president at Selig Enterprises, who is not involved with Bank of America Plaza.

“You can’t lease it up 25,000 square feet at a time, it would take forever,” Ahrenkiel told CoStar News. “They’ve got to get a few more big fish.”

The nearby area has had mixed success with towers. Selig developed and owns 1105 West Peachtree, a fully leased 410-foot tower about 1 mile north of Bank of America Plaza. The property opened in 2021 and has Google and law firm Smith, Gambrell & Russell locked in as anchor tenants.

But another building a few blocks away from Bank of America Plaza tells a different story. The 14th & Spring tower, developed by Goldman Sachs Asset Management, opened in 2022 but remains 100% vacant, according to the brokerage in charge of leasing.

Trophy towers nearby also include railroad Norfolk Southern's headquarters at 650 W. Peachtree St. that opened in 2021, a 22-story tower that's caddy-corner to Bank of America Plaza. And another new office property in the area, leased by Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, sits one block north of Norfolk Southern.

CP Group placed an expensive bet. It acquired Bank of America Plaza in 2022 for $380 million in a joint venture with funds managed by HPS Investment Partners. But Eachus is confident it will pay off. Several prospective tenants have kicked the tires during recent office tours, he said.

CP Group could embark on an additional upgrade for what could become one of Atlanta’s most popular rooftop decks, though the company admits it may be prohibitively expensive.

The rooftop, enclosed by the tower’s steel lattice, is accessible and provides unmatched views of Atlanta. During a recent exclusive tour given to CoStar News, the steel beams only partially blocked views of downtown Atlanta’s office towers, Mercedes-Benz Stadium and the Georgia Tech campus.

But the high cost of creating a rooftop deck may mean it won't materialize. An elevator is needed because the only current access is via a narrow stairwell. Extensive security barriers would be required for the rooftop edge. The deck is cluttered with chillers, generators, powerful lighting for nighttime illumination of the latticework and broadcast and cell phone antennas. With all that equipment, space for foot traffic is limited.

While a rooftop deck could be an added revenue stream, as observation decks experience a rebirth in popularity in New York and other cities, CP Group expects to nevertheless emphasize the tower’s steel lattice and obelisk-shaped spire in other ways, Eachus said. The gold leaf-covered spire is the inspiration for the lobby redesign with the gold color to be used in railings and other fixtures.

“We thought, ‘Let’s bring that design element into the building itself,’” Eachus said. “It’s such an iconic building, we felt we needed to do something that really honored that. Doing an industrial-chic lobby probably wouldn’t fit here.”

Renovations on the lobby are estimated to be completed this summer. CP Group’s asking rent is in the mid-to-upper $40s per square foot, Eachus said. The Downtown market average is $28.58 per square foot, according to CoStar data.

CP Group’s chance for success with Bank of America Plaza probably depends on more than just the quality of the renovation, Selig’s Ahrenkiel said. CP Group needs to have the financial wherewithal to meet new tenants’ demands.

“The more important consideration is whether a building can perform on lease obligations, including funding tenant improvement allowances and capital improvements,” Ahrenkiel said.

Jeff Keppen and Nicole Goldsmith at CBRE represent CP Group on office leasing. Lily Heimburger and Adrienne Crawford at SRS Real Estate Partners are the retail leasing agents. Gensler is the architect on the lobby renovation. ASD/SKY is an interior designer for the spec office suites. Holder Construction is the general contractor.