Atlanta’s central business district is one step closer to a transformative infrastructure project that will cap the connector with an expansive urban greenspace corridor.

The City of Atlanta (DOT) plans to construct a public infrastructure over the section of Interstate 75/85, known as The Connector, between the Civic Center MARTA rail station at West Peachtree Street and Piedmont Avenue. With help from a $10 million Eastside Tax Allocation District (TAD) grant, The Stitch will unite the two sides of downtown currently divided by I-75/85 with a 3⁄4-mile long, 14-acre series of elevated, interconnected parks, plazas, walking trails and new street connections.

Not only will The Stitch spur new land use on adjacent and nearby sites that are currently underutilized and blighted by the impacts of exposure to the interstate highway, it also has the potential to increase property tax revenues by spurring development on adjacent sites.

The City of Atlanta and the Atlanta Downtown Improvement District (ADID) have already secured over $4 million in funding to support initial planning and concept design for The Stitch. The next step to advance the project is completing the preliminary project engineering – a scope of work totaling $21 million.

The City and ADID requested the $10 million Eastside TAD grant as part of a 50/50 match funding for a USDOT Reconnecting Communities Pilot Grant Program. The $10 million grant will be combined with $500,000 from ADID to leverage $10.5 million from the grant program, securing the total need of $21 million in funding to complete preliminary engineering activities for The Stitch.

Completion of preliminary engineering will make The Stitch shovel-ready and eligible for Federal funding sources to support construction.