Atlanta's City Council gave unanimous approval on June 16, 2025 to an ordinance adopting The Stitch Master Plan, moving forward the project planned above the Downtown Connector in downtown Atlanta.
Under the plan, The Stitch would add approximately 17 acres of new community park space. That space would sit on a ¾-mile platform spanning the Downtown Connector, with the project running between Ted Turner Drive and Piedmont Avenue.
The plan was shaped over an eighteen-month process. That stretch included more than 20 community engagement events and feedback from over 6,000 individuals. The Stitch has been developed in partnership with the Atlanta Downtown Improvement District.
The June vote follows action the council took in April, when members voted to fund the project, define it and implement it. downtownATL covered that earlier step in Atlanta advances the Stitch project for park capping Downtown Connector.
The timeline and the federal grant
Phase one of The Stitch is expected to begin in 2026, with completion expected by 2030. Threats to federal funding, however, may leave the project's future up in the air.
For the project, the City received a $157.6 million Neighborhood Access and Equity (NAE) Grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation. The Trump administration has threatened to revoke that grant. The threat came after the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee proposed rescinding NAE grant funds that had not yet been obligated, as part of the Trump administration's effort to decrease government spending.
A.J. Robinson, President of Central Atlanta Progress, addressed the question in a letter to supporters. He wrote that the project will happen with or without the funding. He also cautioned that "federal funding falling out of the equation now will delay the project – likely by years." Robinson wrote that such a delay would jeopardize the 40,000 jobs, $8.6 billion in economic output and 25,000 new housing units The Stitch is projected to produce.
Jack Cebe, the development manager of The Stitch, said he is optimistic that federal funding will still come through.
For more on the effort to hold on to the grant, see Atlanta Leaders Rally to Save $157 Million in Federal Funding for The Stitch.
Reported by Rough Draft Atlanta.