KPMG Might Be the Next Big 4 Firm Ditching Its Downtown Atlanta Office

In March, Atlanta Business Chronicle reported Deloitte did not renew its 260,000 square foot lease at 191 Peachtree St in downtown Atlanta. Now KPMG might be joining them in looking to downsize from downtown space.

Deloitte’s decision may have something to do with this:

Violent protests over long work weeks tonight at Atlanta’s Deloitte office
by u/titty_brain in Accounting

Guys, don’t make this lore. There were protests at their building, it had nothing to do with hours.

More likely, however, is that Deloitte realized they don’t need a quarter of million square feet of office space in the heart of downtown Atlanta in a post-pandemic world. It’s rumored Deloitte will announce a soft return to office the Tuesday after Memorial Day (May 30) but even then, there’s no way they’re going to require 100% of their people in the office 100% of the time (a rumor-spreader says it will be 75% in office for tax, 100% in office for those below manager without engagement partner approval to work from home).

Atlanta Business Chronicle has once again broke Big 4 office real estate news and reported Friday that with two years left on its lease at Truist Plaza on 303 Peachtree Street, KPMG is looking for new digs, too:

KPMG hired Cushman & Wakefield to represent the firm in its search for space, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the market. John Winter, Kirk Diamond, April Parrish and Erin Smith have the assignment.

They add:

KPMG follows a hybrid work model, and has begun to shed its real estate in other markets to better adjust to its space needs. In New York, the firm is in the process of shrinking its office space by 40%. KPMG is downsizing in Seattle and Minneapolis, too. This trend — companies downsizing leases, often in newer buildings with better amenities — is occurring all across the U.S.

Here’s what they’re working with now:

You should know that this isn’t the first time Atlanta Business Chronicle reported KPMG would be leaving its Atlanta home when the firm had two years left on its lease. Back in 2008 they said KPMG was looking to downsize its downtown office — the building used to be called SunTrust Plaza before SunTrust merged with BB&T to create the dumbly named Truist — and obviously nothing came of it.

KPMG has about 182,000 square feet of office space spread out among SunTrust Tower and the Garden Offices, but it’s looking for a new lease and less space, according to commercial real estate brokers.

Its lease at SunTrust Plaza expires in 2010.

Several of the large brokerage houses recently made pitches to KPMG to represent the firm in its search for about 150,000 square feet, which will most likely focus on downtown and could include Cousins Properties Inc.’s One Ninety One tower and Hal Barry’s Ivan Allen Plaza.

Guess we’ll just have to see what happens in 2025. Let’s just hope they don’t end up in a hideous office park.