The tornado touched down in Atlanta's central business district around 9:30 p.m. on a Friday, when few tenants would have been working. The building's response team was on the scene at 10:30 p.m. and immediately checked all floors to ensure no one else was inside. All tenants were contacted within the first two hours after the tornado struck.

Shattered windows were boarded with plywood while other measures were taken to mitigate further damage, and a broken water pipe on the second floor that had been running for about an hour was shut off and excess water extracted. A command post was set up to evaluate damage to the building, which also included more than 30 blown-out spandrels, exterior columns on the Luckie Street side, and inside ceilings and walls.

The 40-year-old Equitable Building appeared to receive the most damage from the March 14 tornado of any Downtown Atlanta office buildings, though some windows were broken on the nearby 191 Peachtree Tower, owned by Cousins Properties Inc., according to published reports. Other major urban structures such as the Georgia Dome and CNN Center were also hit.

Sponsel estimates that Equastone's quick response also aided in the current rebuilding process by placing an order for replacement glass the Monday after the tornado, rather than waiting later into the following week. "Some of the buildings aren't getting their glass for six to eight weeks," she says.

Equastone, which has had prior experience with building damage ranging from California earthquakes to Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, isn't likely to shy away from weather-prone properties based on its Atlanta experience, Carpenter says. However, he notes that the company may perform a bit more risk analysis on future acquisitions. "There are all sorts of risks in the real estate business," he says. "This one could have been a lot worse."