The former CNN Center is about to get a whole lot weirder, in the best possible way. CP Group just signed AMP Up1 Hospitality to bring The Looking Glass, an Alice in Wonderland-inspired immersive eatertainment venue, to 38,000 square feet inside what's now called The CTR in Downtown Atlanta.
For anyone who has walked past that building lately wondering what was actually going to happen to the old CNN hub, this is a real answer. Not a rendering, not a vibe. A signed lease with a Q2 2027 opening target, according to the Bisnow deal sheet.
Wait, who is behind this?
AMP Up1 Hospitality is the Atlanta group behind Your 3rd Spot, the restaurant and arcade concept that already proved Atlantans will absolutely show up and pay for dinner with a side of "what is even happening right now." So this is not a random out-of-town operator trying to figure out our city. They have done the homework, they know the room, and now they are scaling the concept way up. This is not a restaurant, it is a destination, a full world you move through at your own pace with a choose-your-own-adventure layout instead of one themed room. Atlanta has not had anything like this Downtown, and AMP Up1 has the track record to pull it off.
What does this mean for The CTR?
The CTR has been one of the slower-moving transformation stories Downtown, which makes this a genuine turning point. CP Group has been steadily peeling back the old CNN identity and rebuilding the property as a mixed-use destination, and The Looking Glass is exactly the kind of anchor that gives the rest of the building a reason to exist beyond office space. You do not commit a space this size to a single concept unless you are convinced foot traffic is coming back hard, and this signing says CP Group is.
If you have been tracking the bigger Downtown shift, this fits the pattern we have covered with the South Downtown Terminal District redevelopment and the Atlanta Civic Center plans. The core of the city is getting rebuilt for people who want to be there at 8 p.m. on a Saturday, not just 8 a.m. on a Tuesday.
Why eatertainment, and why now?
Because the concept works, and Atlanta is ready for it. Your 3rd Spot proved the model here, and national operators like Puttshack and Bowlero have been planting large-format venues in downtowns from Houston to Nashville. The proof is already on the ground right here: Cosm, the shared-reality dome venue, opens June 10 at Centennial Yards just a few blocks away, betting that people will show up for something they cannot get at home. People want a reason to drive Downtown that is not a Hawks game or a convention, and a full sensory experience delivers exactly that. Q2 2027 still feels far off, but in commercial real estate timelines, that is basically next weekend.
This is exactly the kind of swing The CTR needed. A 38,000 square foot concept from a proven Atlanta operator is not a hedge, it is a statement. CP Group is betting that Downtown's next chapter is built on experiences you cannot replicate at home, and they are right. The CNN Center era is officially over. The next era of that building is going to be louder, bolder, and a lot more fun, and I am here for it.
