Equitable Building Recovery in Progress

(Carl Cronan is editor of Real Estate Florida.)

ATLANTA-The Equitable Building is well on the road to recovery after being damaged by a March 14 tornado. In fact, the effort to restore the 33-story landmark started within an hour of the first twister to strike Downtown Atlanta in at least 120 years.

Work is continuing through mid-May to replace 300 windows that were blown out during the storm, while most of the interior damage has been corrected, says Judi Sponsel, VP/group manager with Jones Lang LaSalle, the building’s property management firm. At least half of the building’s 44 tenants on the middle and upper floors were affected, yet they have been able to continue working throughout the repair process, she says. “Overall, we’re about 50% there,” Sponsel tells GlobeSt.com. “Weather has slowed our progress in the last few weeks.”