Atlanta Advances $200M Stitch Park Project Despite $151M Federal Cut

The Stitch is an ambitious plan to cap Atlanta’s Downtown Connector with an elevated park — a first phase of about 5.6 acres toward a broader 17‑acre vision — designed to reconnect majority‑Black neighborhoods long severed by mid‑20th century highway construction and spur redevelopment on Downtown’s northern edge. Project leaders released new renderings and say the plan could ignite an estimated $5 billion in private investment and $9 billion in economic impact while supporting the creation of roughly 25,000 multifamily units and 4,500 jobs. The effort lost about $151 million in promised federal Reconnecting Communities grant funding after recent federal legislation, but organizers say funding is “secured” for now with $50 million raised and a Stitch Special Services District and Downtown special district providing an operations funding stream. City Council has moved to update contracts and stakeholders are forming Atlanta Downtown Stitch Inc. to advance design and construction, with partners aiming to complete phases by 2030. Leaders insist the project will proceed with or without federal help and have urged Congress to see what was defunded, even as some residents express concern about the plan’s impacts and trade‑offs.