Chris Ahrenkiel - Timing the Development Cycle + Atlanta Office Leasing

In this episode, I sit down with Chris Ahrenkiel, a longtime leader in Atlanta’s commercial real estate scene. We talk about his time at Tishman Speyer, navigating the 2008 financial crisis, and developing major projects like Two and Three Alliance. Chris also shares how those experiences shaped his career and his perspective on delivering large-scale office projects in a changing market. Today, he serves as Managing Principal at Cushman & Wakefield, where he continues to play a major role in Atlanta’s commercial real estate landscape. We also discuss Atlanta’s growth and why civic involvement has been a consistent throughline in his career. Big thanks to our sponsors for supporting this series: ✨ Songy Highroads – songyhighroads.com ✨ Corporate Environments – corporateenvironments.com ✨ USA Cabling – usacablingtech.com If you’re looking for commercial real estate in Atlanta, give me a call — I’d love to connect. #AtlantaDevelopment #CommercialRealEstate #OfficeDevelopment #AtlantaCRE #DowntownAtlanta ⏱️ Timestamps 0:00 – Introduction 1:01 – Early career and path into real estate 5:13 – Sponsor Break (Songy Highroads) 6:17 – First real estate roles and early wins 8:23 – Tishman Speyer and the 2008 financial crisis 10:26 – Navigating the recession and leasing Two Alliance 16:40 – Leasing Two Alliance and developing Three Alliance 19:50 – Sponsor Break (USA Cabling) 20:54 – Three Alliance development, design, and market cycles 40:13 – Sponsor Break (Corporate Environments) 41:17 – Google Tower, civic involvement, and career reflections More info: https://linktr.ee/timwright.cre