ATLANTA — Plans for a massive redevelopment that could reshape downtown Atlanta is moving into the next phase.
“The Stitch,” a proposed 14-acre park built over the Downtown Connector, will now be led by a new nonprofit organization and overseen by a nine-member board of directors. The organization, called Stitch Inc., will manage the development of the project.
Stitch Inc. President and CEO Jack Cebe called the move a major step forward.
“This is a really huge milestone in the life of the project,” Cebe said.
Cebe says the new organization is modeled after one of Atlanta’s most successful redevelopment efforts, the Atlanta Beltline, and is designed to formalize partnerships needed to move the project forward.
“And so an entity like this just solidifies that public-private partnership, formalizes it, and sets the roles and responsibilities that we need everybody to take to make this project happen,” Cebe said.
Phase one of the project is expected to begin construction next year and would include a five-acre park built over the Downtown Connector between Peachtree Street and Courtland Street. Two additional phases would follow, eventually expanding the project to about 14 acres.
Cebe says the project could reach “shovel-ready status” later this year.
“This entity, much like the Atlanta Beltline or the Piedmont Park Conservancy, will bring the necessary resources to an iconic space like The Stitch,” he said.
Supporters say the project would help reconnect parts of downtown and midtown Atlanta that were divided by the construction of the Downtown Connector decades ago.
“It’s really a unifying vision for downtown and midtown,” Cebe said.
The Stitch is expected to generate more than $9 billion in economic value to strengthen Georgia’s tax base and bring more than 4,500 jobs to the city.
WSB Radio’s Jonathan O’Brien contributed to this story.