Atlantic Station is a bit of a trip. One minute you’re in a dense urban grid, and the next you’re in what feels like a city within a city, built on top of an old steel mill. Right at the heart of this massive redevelopment sits 271 17th St NW Atlanta GA 30363. Most people just call it the BB&T Tower—or now the Truist tower, following the merger—but that doesn't really capture the gravity of the place. It is a 25-story giant of glass and steel that basically anchored the entire "live-work-play" experiment in Atlanta long before that phrase became a real estate cliché that everyone loves to hate.
If you've ever driven down I-75/85 through the downtown connector, you’ve seen it. It’s that sharp, metallic silhouette that catches the sunset. But it isn't just a pretty facade. This building is a case study in how Atlanta tried to reinvent its industrial past.
The Reality of 271 17th St NW Atlanta GA 30363
Walking into the lobby, you get this immediate sense of that mid-2000s corporate ambition. It was completed around 2009, right when the world was economically melting down, which is a wild context for a building that looks this polished. It was designed by Duda Paine Architects. They’re the same folks behind some of the most striking vertical geometry in the Southeast. They didn't just build a box. They built a structure with these crystalline edges that make it look different from every angle.
The building offers about 542,000 square feet of Class A office space. "Class A" is just industry speak for "very expensive and very nice." But what makes 271 17th St NW Atlanta GA 30363 actually function isn't the square footage. It’s the LEED Gold certification. Back when it was built, sustainability was a bit of a buzzword that people used to greenwash boring projects, but here, it was integrated into the actual bones of the site. They had to deal with the literal soil of the Atlantic Steel Mill. They took a brownfield—basically a polluted industrial graveyard—and turned it into a high-tech hub. That is genuinely hard to do.
Who is actually inside the building?
Truist is the big name on the door, obviously. When BB&T and SunTrust hooked up to become the sixth-largest bank in the US, this location became a pivotal piece of their Atlanta footprint. But the tenant mix is a weirdly perfect snapshot of the city's economy. You have law firms like Womble Bond Dickinson. You have Sage Software, which occupies a massive chunk of space.
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It’s interesting because Sage is a global tech company. Their presence there tells you that 271 17th St NW Atlanta GA 30363 isn't just for suits and bankers. It’s for the tech crowd that wants to be able to walk downstairs, grab a coffee at Starbucks, hit the gym, and maybe catch a movie at the Regal cinema across the street without ever touching a car steering wheel. In a city as car-dependent as Atlanta, that’s the ultimate flex.
The Atlantic Station Factor
You can't talk about this specific address without talking about the surrounding chaos and charm of Atlantic Station. Honestly, the neighborhood has had its ups and downs. A few years ago, people were worried it was losing its soul or becoming too "mall-like." But then Hines, the real estate firm, took over and started pumping money into the public spaces.
They renovated the central park area, made it more walkable, and doubled down on the office component. 271 17th St NW Atlanta GA 30363 benefited from this immensely. If you work there, you aren't stuck in a vacuum. You’re steps away from the Millennium Gate Museum and that weirdly massive IKEA.
Is it actually a good place to work?
Let's be real for a second. High-rise office life can be soul-sucking if the building is managed poorly. But 271 is different because of the floor plates. They are designed to let in a ton of natural light. If you’re stuck on the 20th floor doing spreadsheets, at least you have a panoramic view of the Buckhead skyline to the north and the Mercedes-Benz Stadium to the south.
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The parking is another thing. Atlanta parking is usually a nightmare. At 271 17th St NW Atlanta GA 30363, you’re plugged into the massive underground parking deck that sits beneath all of Atlantic Station. It is one of the largest parking structures in the world. It’s sort of a subterranean city. It means you don't have to circle a block for twenty minutes, though navigating the "Marta" shuttle and the various exits can definitely be a learning curve for newcomers.
The Financial Side of the Equation
From an investment perspective, this property is a beast. It’s owned by CBRE Investment Management. They didn't buy it by accident. They bought it because the "Midtown" submarket has been the strongest performing office sector in Atlanta for nearly a decade. While Downtown struggles and Buckhead deals with its own identity crises, Midtown—and specifically the Atlantic Station pocket—stays occupied.
The lease rates here aren't cheap. You’re looking at top-of-the-market numbers. But companies pay it because they use the building as a recruiting tool. If you're trying to hire a 24-year-old software engineer, you’re more likely to get them if your office is at 271 17th St NW Atlanta GA 30363 than if it’s in a boring office park in Sandy Springs.
Navigating the Building and Area
If you're heading there for a meeting, give yourself an extra ten minutes. The entrance to the parking deck can be confusing if you miss the 17th Street turnoff. Once you're inside, the security is pretty tight—standard for a building housing a major financial institution. You’ll need a badge or a guest pass to even get near the elevators.
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The surrounding area is also surprisingly green. One of the biggest misconceptions about this part of Atlanta is that it's all concrete. But the bridge that connects Atlantic Station to the rest of Midtown (the 17th Street Bridge) has wide sidewalks and decent bike lanes. You see people jogging past the building all the time. It feels active.
Why 271 17th St NW Atlanta GA 30363 Matters Now
We are in this weird era of "return to office" debates. A lot of buildings are sitting empty. But 271 17th St NW Atlanta GA 30363 seems to be dodging the worst of that. Why? Because it’s an "amenity-rich" environment. That’s the jargon real estate brokers use to say there’s a lot of cool stuff nearby.
When your office is at this address, you’re near the Target, the Publix, and dozens of restaurants. It turns the office from a destination you're forced to go to into a hub for your actual life. That was the vision back in 2005, and it’s finally, sort of, actually working.
Actionable Insights for Visitors and Tenants
If you are considering leasing space, visiting a client, or just exploring the area, keep these specific points in mind:
- Parking Strategy: Use the P1 level for the quickest access to the office lobby elevators. If you park in the general retail sections, you'll be walking a lot further than you think.
- Commuting: The Atlantic Station shuttle is a lifesaver. It runs from the Arts Center MARTA station directly to the corner of the building. It’s free and saves you the headache of the 17th Street traffic.
- Lunch Options: Skip the immediate chain restaurants right at the base if you want something local. Walk two blocks toward the "District" area for better options that aren't just standard food court fare.
- Client Meetings: The lobby of the building is impressive, but for a more relaxed setting, the outdoor seating near the Millennium Gate Museum offers a much better vibe for "off the record" chats.
- Tech Infrastructure: The building is WiredScore Certified. If you're a tech-heavy tenant, this means the fiber redundancy is actually legit, not just something promised in a brochure.
271 17th St NW Atlanta GA 30363 stands as a testament to Atlanta’s ability to build its way out of its past. It’s a high-functioning, high-design anchor in a neighborhood that finally found its footing. Whether you're there for the finance, the tech, or just passing through, it's hard to ignore the impact this single address has on the city's skyline and its economy.