NCR Building $300M World Headquarters in Atlanta

NCR, the high-tech company that specializes in consumer transactions, broke ground last week for its new world headquarters in Midtown Atlanta. The $300 million project will be a state-of-the-art campus designed to attract top talent, showcase NCR’s technology solutions and serve as an iconic landmark for the City of Atlanta. 

The 22-story tower — which will sit on top of five decks of parking — will offer NCR greater visibility than the company has at its current suburban headquarters in Duluth, Ga.

One feature of the new tower is its sloping panes of glass that, as sunlight hits the building, will give it a sense of movement.

The new tower will be located at the corner of 8th and Spring streets in the heart of Midtown Atlanta’s Technology Square.

The 485,000-square-foot headquarters “is a critical first step in a larger goal to create a ‘Silicon Valley of the East’ right here in Atlanta,” said NCR Chairman Bill Nuti.

The NCR campus will also feature a four-level transparent glass building where employees, Georgia Tech students and professors can gather and collaborate.

The Fortune 500 company plans to house about 3,600 employees at it's new world headquarters.

“NCR wants to take the intellectual capacity of Tech Square, and of Georgia Tech students and professors, and create an active, collaborative environment,” said John McColl, an executive vice president with Cousins Properties Inc., which is developing the $250 million first phase of the NCR project.

"It will be like an urban living room, where the company plans to invite everyone in Tech Square to come and be part of what it is doing."

In addition to the 22-story Midtown headquarters building, the NCR campus will also feature a four-level transparent glass building where employees, Georgia Tech students and professors can gather and collaborate.

Known as the Spring Street Building, it's intended as the heart of the project, a place to build connections in Technology Square, one of the nation’s fastest-growing innovation districts where Georgia Tech is the biggest catalyst for investment and development.

The Spring Street Building's glass is designed to be transparent on every floor so people passing by can see the activity inside — and want to be part of it.

Duda Paine Architects, designer of the Terminus office towers in Buckhead, which the project shares a resemblance, will be the building architect. Gensler, a global design firm, will design the project’s interiors.

NCR also plans to maintain a significant presence at a second campus in the northern suburbs. These locations will enable the company to continue to attract talent from the entire metro Atlanta area to support its hardware-enabled, software-driven business.

The new world headquarters will be located at Centergy North at Technology Square on Spring Street, and will provide NCR with a state-of-the-art presence close to Atlanta’s rich innovation centers and leading academic institutions.

In addition to helping the company consolidate a number of disparate facilities into unified and contemporary work environments, improved access to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport will make it easier for financial services, retail and hospitality customers from all over the world to visit Atlanta and experience NCR’s innovative technology solutions first hand.

NCR is best known for making ATMs and cash registers, but the company is changing into more of a software business, and the new facility is part of NCR’s plan to tap into talent at Georgia Tech.

“Creating a state-of-the-art campus in midtown Atlanta near Georgia Tech marks an important step in NCR’s reinvention as an exciting and important, global technology company,” said NCR Chairman and CEO Bill Nuti.

“You can count on your hand the number of successful technology company reinventions that have been executed over the last hundred years – and NCR is amongst them. NCR runs global commerce and we make the everyday easier as consumers connect, interact and transact with business. We are extremely proud of the important innovations we create and the valuable work done on behalf of our customers around the world right here in metro Atlanta.”

“Georgia has proven to be the top choice for leading companies to locate their headquarters,” said Governor Deal. “NCR chose Georgia a few years ago, and we are thrilled that this global leader will now expand its presence in our state. Our No. 1 business climate, which includes a skilled workforce, a solid network of companies, access to innovative R&D and a critical mass of fiber accessibility and total bandwidth, creates the ideal environment for Fortune 500 companies such as NCR to grow and remain competitive.”

“Technology is a critical sector for our local economy and we are honored to have NCR locate its global headquarters in Atlanta,” said Mayor Kasim Reed.  “Every day, businesses are voting with their feet and choosing the City of Atlanta as the place to bring their dreams and build their businesses. The best companies in the world are building their brands here, strengthening our economy and confirming Atlanta’s place as a leading city for business.”

The new NCR headquarters in midtown will be ready in early in 2018, and join the ranks of other iconic Atlanta buildings, such as Bank of America Plaza, SunTrust Plaza, and One Atlantic Center. While a location for the campus in the northern suburbs is yet being finalized, it is expected to open during a similar time frame.

Although the groundbreaking ceremony was held last week, actual construction will begin on Jan 4th.