Robert P. Forrestal, president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, Wednesday announced that the Bank plans to construct a new headquarters at Tenth and Peachtree Streets, bringing all of its activities into a single building.
"This site at Tenth Street will keep the Fed in the central business district of Atlanta, afford excellent access to MARTA and transportation arteries, and allow room for current and future expansion," Forrestal said. The location is approximately two miles from the Bank's current headquarters.
The new building will contain approximately 700,000 square feet. It will be located on an 11-acre site extending from Peachtree to West Peachtree Street between Tenth and Eleventh Streets. The property was purchased from Gateway Real Estate Company, Inc., a subsidiary of the Bank of Nova Scotia, for $20.2 million.
Currently, the Atlanta Fed is housed in three buildings in downtown Atlanta: the main Bank building at 104 Marietta Street, two floors at 55 Park Place, and five floors in the Equitable Building at 100 Peachtree Street. The Bank also leases warehouse space on Defoors Hills Road.
"Aside from overcoming current inefficiencies associated with the multiple locations that house our various operations, the Bank must ensure cost-effective plans to meet its long-term needs for additional space to carry out its statutory responsibilities," Forrestal said.
As examples he cited the Bank's growing cash and check operations, which require a large floorplate to allow for processing by highly automated equipment. Also, since the early 1990s the Bank has become increasingly involved in supervision of international banks, particularly from Latin America, operating in the United States.
"Therefore," he said, "more office, processing, and parking space is needed to accommodate growth in staff and in the number of visitors. If the Bank had not been able to find a suitable site in the central business district of Atlanta, it would have been necessary to build an operations center outside the city limits of Atlanta and relocate a substantial number of employees there."
"Construction will begin in 1997, and the Fed should occupy the new building in mid- to late-1999," Forrestal said. "This will give adequate time to find an appropriate use for the Bank's present space on Marietta Street."
The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta serves the Sixth Federal Reserve District, which encompasses Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee. As part of the nation's central banking system, the Atlanta Fed takes part in setting national monetary policy, supervises and regulates numerous commerical banks, and provides check processing and other payments services to depository institutions and the U.S. government.