ATLANTA — The City of Atlanta is one step closer to transforming 14 acres of land between Downtown and Midtown. Developers call the project "The Stitch," and they told 11Alive it will connect communities that have been divided for decades by the interstate system. The project would cap the space above the I-75/I-85 connector in a similar fashion as the Beltline was constructed.
Michael Jackson has lived downtown for about seven years. He mainly uses MARTA to get around town. He said if The Stitch can bring affordable housing, business and access, it can bring these communities back together.
“A lot of the people here feel forgotten," Jackson said. "Public spaces are always good for everyone. It increases accessibility, unification, diversity and it’s always good for business.”
That historic separation, city leaders said, created decades of racial inequity. This week, Atlanta City Council approved the city's bid to gain funding for the three-quarter-mile project, which is expected to cost around $700 million overall.
"Even though the city has grown, prospered and benefited from those highways, [the interstate] has kind of damaged the travel space within the city of Atlanta," city councilman Michael Julian Bond said. "This is a chance to develop more amenities, more parks, more recreational space for our residents, students and tourists.”
"From an equity and historical standpoint, this is really righting a wrong," city council president Doug Shipman said. "I think it makes it even more attractive for other projects to really create a vibrant downtown. We need residents downtown, and we need very easy ways for folks staying and visiting downtown to also then make their way to other parts of the city.”
Jennifer Ball is the chief operating officer of Central Atlanta Progress, which envisioned The Stitch. The group is involved in land use, growth and development in Downtown Atlanta. Ball said as development on the Civic Center and surrounding areas moves forward, The Stitch will work in conjunction to bring revitalization to an area in need of a boost.
Developers are using U.S. DOT grants, along with other federal funds, future anticipated property values and matching funds from the group to pay for the project. Ball said she did not expect taxpayers to have to pay more to cover the costs for The Stitch.
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“It opens up, what are today, underutilized parking lots that are vacant, and makes them more accessible and attractive to investment," Ball said. "It's almost like building a new neighborhood right in the center of the city where you don’t realize that opportunity exists.”
Jim Hackler has seen similar projects to The Stitch work in Dallas, Texas. He supports The Stitch because he said it would provide more bike and pedestrian accessibility.
“Between biking from Midtown to Downtown, that’s like a no man’s land trying to come through there, with the access from the highway, cars flying off the highway," Hackler said. "It’s a dangerous connection. It would be really nice to get a little more greenspace, park space and walkable space that close for all those people.”
There are concerns about potential traffic snags, construction delays and the possibility of displacing people experiencing homelessness.
Ball said the city should know about the latest federal grant by next spring, and they will work to engage the community early next year to learn what the public wants to see with The Stitch, what kind of housing they want and what issues matter to them in the project. The next phase would involve piecing together the technical aspects and engineering of the project. Construction would then begin by 2024-2025, with an estimated completion date of 2032 at the earliest, according to Ball.