The boards of Atlanta Beltline, Inc. and Invest Atlanta have signed off on a fiscal 2027 budget of $265.8 million, and the shape of it makes the organization's remaining priority obvious: get the loop closed by 2030.
The money comes from a mix of sources, but one dominates. The Beltline Tax Allocation District supplies roughly $192.5 million, about 72.4 percent of the total, with the rest drawn from Atlanta's Special Service District, philanthropic gifts, and local, state and federal grants.
Trail delivery, design and construction takes the largest share at $128.6 million. That is the line item carrying the 2030 deadline to finish all 22 miles of mainline trail plus 11 miles of connectors, and the coming year includes work on one of the most complicated pieces left, Northeast Trail Segment 3 and its connector trails.
Real estate follows at $45.4 million, aimed squarely at acquiring the land still needed to complete the mainline, with particular attention to the northern corridor. Affordable housing and commercial space draws $41 million; ABI says it has reached 81 percent of its goal to create or preserve 5,600 affordable units by 2030 and expects to clear 95 percent by the close of FY27.
Economic development gets $13 million for the programs aimed at keeping small operators on the loop rather than priced off it, including the Beltline Business Solutions Office, Beltline Business Ventures, the Atlanta Beltline Marketplace, facade grants and workforce development. Planning, engagement and art take $2.6 million, funding subarea master plan work, public meetings and the outdoor art program that culminates each year in the Lantern Parade.
The smallest line is the one to watch. Transit receives $6.7 million, which supports elevator improvements at the Bankhead MARTA station, the planned Murphy Crossing infill station, further transit studies, and ATL Spoke, the autonomous transit pilot launched in June linking MARTA's West End Station to the Southwest Trail at Lee + White. Compared with $128.6 million for pavement, it is a modest number for the piece of the original Beltline promise that remains furthest from delivered.
Original reporting: Rough Draft Atlanta (July 20, 2026)