Nearly a decade after it was first proposed, the Stitch had reached the doorstep of construction. Most of its money is now gone.
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed into law last month, rescinded $151.4 million in federal grant funding awarded to the highway-capping project in early 2024. That figure represented roughly three-quarters of the estimated cost to design and build the Stitch's first phase.
The response
Jack Cebe, the Stitch's director and an engineer and landscape architect by training, called the loss disappointing but told supporters in a newsletter that the Stitch is happening regardless.
His case rests on what remains. More than $40 million in local funding for phase one had already been secured, and Cebe says that portion of the work will complete permitting, approvals and shovel-ready engineering by mid-2026. He also cited a reaffirmed institutional commitment to the project.
What phase one is
The 5.7-acre first phase is envisioned as the green heart of the project: pathways, native gardens, a plaza, shade structures, pavilions, a playground, restrooms and multiple connections to the surrounding streets, all built on a deck over the downtown Connector.
Construction was on track to begin in 2026 before the rescission.
The longer arc
The Stitch exists to reverse a decision made decades ago, when the freeway cut through and separated intown neighborhoods that had been continuous. Reconnecting them requires building new land, which is why the project is expensive and why federal transportation dollars were central to it.
Being shovel-ready with local funding and no federal match is a materially different position than being shovel-ready with both. Whether the Stitch closes that gap through state money, philanthropy, a future federal cycle, or a smaller first phase is the question the next two years will answer.
Original reporting by Josh Green for Urbanize Atlanta, published August 2025.