Anthem to Create Tech Center in Downtown Atlanta
Anthem has announced that its local Atlanta affiliate will build a new technology center downtown where 3,000 multidisciplinary IT professionals will work on innovative projects to help improve the consumer experience.
In a press release, Anthem officials noted that the affiliate has entered into a build-to-suit agreement with Portman Holdings for the custom development of an approximately 352,000 square-foot building located in the heart of midtown Atlanta, which is already home to Anthem’s innovation studio. The 21-story structure will be a hub for approximately 3,000 multi-disciplinary IT professionals “dedicated to creating new capabilities that will enhance the consumer healthcare experience, help improve quality of care, and lower healthcare costs. Construction is planned to begin in January 2018 with an expected completion in two years,” officials stated.
The Anthem Technology Center will be situated in a highly concentrated area that has become known as an innovation hotbed—Tech Square—with research facilities, incubators, technology start-ups, the Georgia Institute of Technology campus, and the neighboring 645,000 square-foot mixed-use Coda building currently under construction.
“This new investment is a critical part of the Tech Square expansion and delivers on the commitment we announced last year to grow our IT footprint in Atlanta and the state,” Jeff Fusile, president of Anthem’s affiliated Blue Cross and Blue Shield health plan in Georgia, said in a statement. “When this building opens in 2020, it will join the City’s dynamic line-up of technology companies, enabling us to tap into the area’s highly skilled talent pipeline.”
Anthem said last year when it announced its initial investment that it would look to create approximately 1,800 jobs in the Atlanta area, and this project could double that number by the time the center is created.
The architectural firm, John Portman & Associates, designed the building and provided Anthem the opportunity to create spaces that support its work style. More than 14,000 square-feet of terrace area will allow for an inviting green space, bringing the outside in, to support health and wellness. As part of the LEED- and Fitwel-certified design, Anthem placed an emphasis on energy and water efficiency, indoor environmental quality, and active design standards, officials have noted.
“We are thrilled to announce this collaboration with Portman Holdings in the construction of this ultramodern building that is designed to inspire cooperation and creativity and enable us to work smarter in an effort to transform healthcare through modernization, digitization, and innovation with the ultimate goal of delivering a better, more personalized experience for members of Anthem’s affiliated health plans,” added Tom Miller, Anthem senior vice president and chief information officer.
