Following what’s being called by backers of downtown’s Stitch project a “pivotal year” in 2023, the ambitious, highway-capping greenspace project is transitioning to a new phase that aims to use public input as a tool for hammering out final designs.
Central Atlanta Progress and its partners have scheduled a community workshop in early May—on the top floor of Bank of America Plaza, Atlanta’s tallest building, no less—to carry 2023 momentum and project support from local officials, federal agencies, and other public events into this year, according to CAP.
Meanwhile, an online portal for sharing input about how the Stitch should look and function will remain open until the end of next month, officials report in a February project update.
Alongside the City of Atlanta, CAP’s Atlanta Downtown Improvement District began the process of Stitch master-planning in April, and thousands of community members and stakeholders have chimed in so far via public events and online questionnaires, according to project leaders.
The Stitch has also collected more than $42 million from local and federal partners—including $12.5 million from federal grants—to help pay for environmental studies and preliminary engineering for the project’s first phase.
Depiction of a Stitch greenspace between several landmark and hypothetical buildings. Central Atlanta Progress; thestitchatl.com
That initial phase will include up to 4.5 acres of interstate-capping infrastructure and public spaces spanning between Peachtree and Courtland streets, or just east of MARTA’s Civic Center station.
Plans also call for multimodal street, safety, and aesthetic improvements across the area in question.
All specifics remain TBD, but Stitch leaders say the project’s design phase, which is beginning now, is on track to finish this summer.
Central Atlanta Progress
Other aspects of phase one planning will include improvements to MARTA’s Civic…
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