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According to a recent article in the Atlanta Business Chronicle, Cox Enterprises, the media giant that owns WSB and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, is proposing a 28-story office tower at its Lake Hearn campus near Perimeter Mall for its rapidly growing AutoTrader Unit. Plans call for the 28-story tower, along with a future 20-story office building, a 350-room hotel and a nine-story parking garage that could be linked to the new fly-over bridge crossing Interstate 285. If built, the 28-story tower would be 750,000 square feet, making it the largest office tower developed in the Perimeter Mall area in years. It would be comparable in square footage to Daniel Corp.’s 1075 Peachtree Street, a 39-story, 789,000-square-foot tower under construction in Midtown.

Cox has selected Cousins Properties to develop the 28-story tower. The Atlanta developer has a history with Cox, having already developed the company’s main Atlanta campus at 6205 Peachtree-Dunwoody Road. The Lake Hearn project would be developed in two phases, with the larger tower for AutoTrader the top priority, according to brokers familiar with the plans. Cox would use the new building to accommodate AutoTrader’s growth in Atlanta and consolidate employees that are spread in offices across the Central Perimeter. AutoTrader.com expects to add between 300 and 400 employees to Atlanta this year.