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Atlanta Life Abandoning Auburn Avenue

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100 Auburn Avenue, Herndon Plaza, Atlanta Life Insurance Building designed by architect J.W. Robinson

The Atlanta Life Financial Group is leaving Auburn Avenue after more than 90 years with an office on the street. The company decided earlier this year to sell its headquarters on Auburn to Georgia State University. And on Friday it said it has inked a deal to relocate its Atlanta headquarters to two floors of the One Ninety One Peachtree tower reports the AJC.

William Taggart, Atlanta Life’s chief executive, said the firm will cherish its history on Auburn Avenue but that the opportunity to move to the 50-story downtown Atlanta tower was “too good to pass up.” The move is set to be complete in November.

Cousins Properties bought the iconic building in 2006, moving its corporate offices there from Cobb County. Cousins chief executive Larry Gellerstedt said he looks forward to a “long and successful relationship” with Atlanta Life.

Atlanta Life Insurance Co., a subsidiary of Atlanta Life Financial Group, was founded more than a century ago by Alonzo F. Herndon, a former slave. The company played a prominent role in Atlanta’s African-American business and social scene, and it is had a presence on Auburn Avenue since 1920.

The building was designed by J.W. Robinson (1927 – 2008), an influential African-American architect and historic preservationist.

Source: AJC

 

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