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Get the story behind the places, faces, and current events shaping the downtownATL district.
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Construction, openings, investment, and physical transformation of Atlanta's city center.
In 2015, Mayor Reed appointed Atlanta's first Chief Bicycle Officer, the Atlanta Bicycle Coalition was pushing to open streets for car-free events, and a statewide survey found that 81 percent of Georgians would bike if the infrastructure were safer.
In his 2015 State of the City address, Mayor Kasim Reed announced two ambitious infrastructure moves: extending the Atlanta Streetcar eastward to connect with the BeltLine, and transforming the abandoned Bellwood Quarry into the city's largest park.
On December 30, 2014, Mayor Kasim Reed presided over a grand opening ceremony at Woodruff Park as the Atlanta Streetcar began its 2.7-mile route through downtown — connecting Centennial Olympic Park to the Martin Luther King Jr. Historic District with 12 stops along the way.
Mayor Kasim Reed confirmed in December 2014 that WRS Inc. would purchase Underground Atlanta for $25.8 million, ending decades of city ownership and launching a new chapter for one of downtown's most storied — and most troubled — properties.
In 2013, Atlanta officials explored laying fiber-optic cable along the 22-mile BeltLine corridor — envisioning a broadband backbone that would attract tech companies and deliver internet speeds 100 times faster than typical cable service.
On May 20, 2013, the Atlanta City Council voted unanimously to approve SkyView Atlanta — a 20-story Ferris wheel next to The Tabernacle that had previously stood in Paris and Pensacola.
The Atlanta City Council voted 11–4 in March 2013 to use $200 million in hotel-motel tax revenue toward a retractable-roof stadium in downtown Atlanta — the building that would open four years later as Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
In February 2013, Falcons President Rich McKay told Atlanta's City Council that the team would consider a suburban site if negotiations for a new downtown stadium collapsed — setting the stage for the public financing debate that would define the next two years.
On January 28, 2013, the National Football Foundation broke ground on the new College Football Hall of Fame adjacent to Centennial Olympic Park — bringing one of the sport's most important institutions from South Bend, Indiana, to downtown Atlanta.
On August 23, 2010, Guinness World Records officially certified the Georgia Aquarium as the world's largest aquarium — a distinction it had held since opening in 2005, with more than 8 million gallons of water across its exhibits.
