A member of the steering committee behind the Stitch is urging Atlantans to read and comment on the project's draft master plan, which is now posted for public review. In a guest column for Rough Draft Atlanta, Sharon Gay, who served on the Stitch Steering Committee, lays out what the plan contains and why she believes it deserves support. The column is an argument from a participant in the planning process, and the figures and timelines below are presented as she describes them.
The Stitch is the proposal to build a ¾-mile platform over the Downtown Connector between Ted Turner Drive and Piedmont Avenue. On top of that deck, the vision calls for close to 17 acres of new community park space, with the aim of tying Downtown back to Midtown, the Old Fourth Ward, English Avenue, and Vine City. Gay writes that she joined the committee because she saw the project as a civic infrastructure investment that could also carry transportation upgrades, housing and economic development policy, and community programs meant to support equitable and sustainable growth in the city's core.
How the draft came together
According to the column, the committee and Central Atlanta Progress spent 18 months working with consultants and stakeholders on the plan. Gay puts the number of people engaged at more than 6,000. Alongside steering committee sessions and conversations with government officials, the outreach included focus groups, public workshops, pop-up events in the community, work with students, online input tools, newsletters, and meetings with downtown property owners and resident groups.
What the plan covers
Gay calls the draft the most comprehensive community development plan she has encountered across decades in economic development and public policy. Its recommendations and goals start with parks and open space and extend to sustainability, urban design, multimodal transportation, land use, real estate and economic development, and affordable housing.
The column cites a projection that a fully built Stitch would generate $9 billion in economic impact, through jobs, new commercial and residential development that includes affordable housing, and gains in property values and tax revenue. The column does not identify who produced that estimate.
Three phases, starting at Peachtree
The draft divides the work into three phases. Gay states that the first phase is funded and ready to move forward, though the column does not name funding sources or amounts. As described, Phase 1 would cap 4 to 5 acres of the interstate between Peachtree Street and Courtland Street and add multimodal improvements along seven streets inside the project area. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2026, with completion targeted for 2030.
For the project as a whole, the column says delivery and long-term maintenance would fall to a partnership of four parties: a newly incorporated Stitch nonprofit, the Atlanta Downtown Improvement District, the City of Atlanta, and the Georgia Department of Transportation.
Weighing in
Gay closes by inviting readers to review the draft, share their views, and join the effort to put the plan into action. The draft master plan can be reviewed and commented on at thestitchatl.com.
Original reporting by Sharon Gay for Rough Draft Atlanta.