After 85 years as Central Atlanta Progress, downtown's business-led civic organization has a new name. Downtown Atlanta Inc. was unveiled March 11, 2026, at the organization's annual meeting and awards celebration, where 850 people filled the Oceans Ballroom at the Georgia Aquarium for what CAP president A.J. Robinson called a sold-out show.
The rebrand had been telegraphed for a while. In September 2024 the masthead of the organization's monthly Be Downtown newsletter quietly changed from 'Central Atlanta Progress' to 'ATL DTN,' an interim identity that lasted through March 2026. The April 2026 edition was the first to carry the Downtown Atlanta Inc. name, and the organization's longtime web address, atlantadowntown.com, now redirects to downtownatlantainc.com. The name folds two entities into one public identity: CAP, the 1941-vintage nonprofit of downtown property owners and employers, and the Atlanta Downtown Improvement District, the special-tax district that funds the Ambassador Force, street cleaning, and capital projects, which marked its 30th anniversary in 2025. (No relation to downtownATL.com, which has been at this address since 2002 - though we are flattered.)
The meeting itself set a record. Thirteen speakers took the stage, including Governor Brian Kemp and Mayor Andre Dickens, and the program leaned into the 30th anniversary of the 1996 Olympic Games: Robinson wore a bespoke hat inspired by the Olympic mascot Izzy, created by local artist Lacey Longino, and the organization premiered an ADID 30th-anniversary video.
Six awards were presented. Billy Payne, the man who brought the Olympics to Atlanta, received the Dan and Tally Sweat Lifetime Achievement Award; Robinson joked that Payne already had 'a warehouse of awards,' so the organization commissioned artist Sanithna Phansavanh to create an original artwork of Payne's statue in Centennial Olympic Park instead. Dorthey Hurst received the Warner Bros. Discovery Community Leadership Award, presented by Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum and Johnita Due, executive vice president of integrity and inclusion at CNN and TNT Sports. The Atlanta Sports Council received the Marcus Downtown Economic Impact Award, accepted by council president Dan Corso and presented by Atlanta United club ambassador Brad Guzan and Atlanta Dream guard Te-Hina Paopao.
Three Ambassador Force members were honored as well: Terrance Harper with the Rising Star Award, Chavon Ison with the Compassion in Action Award, and Neiman Beard with the Champion Award, presented by vice president of operations Marcus Mister.
The band Ethel and the Shotters played, with Freddie the Falcon sitting in ('not a permanent member of the band,' the recap noted), and the Georgia State University Panther Band drumline closed the program. Harry the Hawk, GSU's Pounce, and the Aquarium's Deepo the Whale Shark worked the room. Local print shop Danger Press embroidered more than 800 baseball caps carrying the new logo for attendees, and a brand video produced by Son and Sons, OK Motion Club, and AS3 Storytelling debuted alongside the organization's 2025 Impact Report.
The new identity comes with a new front door. Downtown Atlanta Inc.'s offices remain at 85 Walton Street NW, Suite 500, and its Ambassador headquarters at 84 Walton Street NW, Suite 120, hosted the organization's first town hall under the new name on April 15, 2026, three months before the World Cup. What the name change does not alter is the model: a property-owner-funded district organization that plans, cleans, promotes, and lobbies for the blocks inside the Connector, now with a name that says exactly where it works.
Source: Introducing Downtown Atlanta Inc. - annual meeting recap (Downtown Atlanta Inc.), published March 2026.
