EY has thrown open the doors to a new 102,000-square-foot office at Ten Twenty Spring in Midtown Atlanta, spreading its workforce across three floors designed with one goal in mind: making the commute feel worth it. Gone are the cubicles. In their place: sit-stand desks, quiet spaces, movie-screening features and a rooftop.
The accounting and consulting giant recently debuted the office, according to AJC.com, which toured the space in Midtown. The outlet described a workplace stocked with quiet settings, movie-screening features, monitors, curtains and coffee areas scattered throughout the three floors — plus a detail that's hard to miss: a market-tested fragrance engineered to smell like cucumber and mint, pumped through the space.
The build-out reflects a broader industry anxiety about getting employees back through the door. Joe Pearson, quoted in the AJC report, said people usually push back when told to return to a physical office, and he's hoping EY's new Atlanta workplace becomes the exception rather than the rule. EY leaders reportedly chose Ten Twenty Spring, a choice the firm frames as both a retention tactic and a way to compete for talent.
Why the Amenities Matter for Hybrid Workers
Regenia Sanders, also cited in the AJC piece, said amenities like these matter most for hybrid employees who are only commuting two to three days a week — the group EY most needs to convince that the trip downtown or into Midtown is worthwhile. Sanders framed the buildout as part of a longer-term investment in EY's people, clients and Atlanta's future. The office is also positioned near both Downtown Atlanta and Midtown.
The size of the new office itself carries some ambiguity depending on the source. AJC.com reported the finished space at 102,000 square feet, while Portman Holdings put the signed lease at 102,195 square feet across floors 14 through 16. Separately, Bisnow reported EY's three spaces at 31,700 square feet each, totaling 95,000 square feet at a cost of $20.1 million — a discrepancy the available reporting doesn't reconcile.
A Landmark Lease for Midtown's Newest Tower
According to Stream Realty, the lease is expected to accommodate roughly 3,000 Atlanta-based EY employees, with the firm's relocation from its Downtown office slated for August 2026. Ten Twenty Spring itself is a 525,000-square-foot Class-A tower built as part of Portman and Perform Properties' Spring Quarter development, offering floor plates over 32,000 square feet, 10-foot panoramic windows, private terraces and more than 25,000 square feet of outdoor space, per Stream Realty's account. Tenants also get access to a coworking lounge and direct connections to Spring Quarter's walkways, gardens and retail.
It's not EY's first high-profile Atlanta address. Bisnow notes the firm moved into the 349,000-square-foot 55 Allen Plaza tower back in 2005 as that building's debut tenant, making Ten Twenty Spring the latest chapter in its Atlanta presence.
A Rebounding Office Market Sets the Backdrop
EY's move lands amid a genuine uptick in Atlanta office activity. CBRE reported that the second quarter of 2026 was the metro's strongest quarter of leasing activity in four years, with net absorption hitting 543,000 square feet — the highest quarterly gain since mid-2022, according to the same CBRE figures. The quarter also included new leasing and expansion activity, while overall availability remained part of the market picture.
The construction pipeline is another part of the market backdrop for buildings like Ten Twenty Spring.
The bigger question of whether the trend translates into more people at desks has separately drawn attention. Atlanta was ranked the best U.S. city for hybrid work in a study by flexible workplace company Hubble, according to Atlanta News First, which also reported that about a quarter of Atlantans have flexible work arrangements while major employers continue offering a mix of in-office and remote schedules. Whether EY's scented, cubicle-free bet actually shifts attendance patterns for its own workforce isn't something the available reporting addresses.
