Newsroom
Get the story behind the places, faces, and current events shaping the downtownATL district.
Atlanta celebrated two major downtown milestones as Founders Green opened on Broad Street and the former CNN Center was rebranded as The CTR, both positioning South Downtown as a World Cup destination.
Atlanta is outperforming nine of eleven U.S. host cities in World Cup hotel bookings, with 213,000 room nights booked and 100% occupancy increases near Mercedes-Benz Stadium — even as 80% of hoteliers nationwide report bookings below forecast.
Georgia State University's Rialto Center for the Arts is investing $150,000 in renovations, new sound equipment, and a shift to membership-based ticketing — its first significant changes since reopening in 1996.
Ted Turner's modest 800-square-foot apartment atop the former CNN Center in Atlanta, where he lived during his years building CNN and Turner Broadcasting, is being preserved and restored by new building owner CP Group as a nod to Atlanta's history.
Invest Atlanta greenlights $2 million in TAD funds for Five Peachtree Senior, a 65-unit affordable senior building slated to break ground beside Underground Atlanta.
The 237-room hotel at 45 Ivan Allen Jr. Boulevard has finished a full renovation and dropped the W flag it carried for more than 15 years, arriving as JW Marriott Atlanta Downtown weeks before Atlanta's World Cup matches.
On May 16, 2026, thirteen Atlanta mural artists reimagined the facade of the former Atlanta Constitution Building at 143 Alabama Street SW - now being redeveloped as the Folio House - with murals, sculpture, and a DJ set.
Two months after BrewDog abruptly closed, the team behind Westside Motor Lounge is filling its 14,700-square-foot Krog District space with a live-music and bar-games pop-up called LikeMinds.
The Atlanta Beltline released an economic impact analysis showing that nearly $1 billion in public investment since 2005 has generated $14.2 billion in private investment and $23 billion in annual economic output. The 22-mile trail loop has also helped create 34,000 jobs and nearly 5,300 affordable housing units.
As South Downtown's 16-acre revitalization draws World Cup visitors, nonprofit CEO Brianna Jackson is working to ensure longtime residents and small businesses share in the neighborhood's transformation.
The proposed Forge Atlanta development promises 2,300 condos, 950 hotel rooms, and futuristic skyscrapers on 10 acres near Castleberry Hill — but the developer reported zero revenue, less than $6,000 in cash, and defaulted on its mortgage. Community leaders are skeptical.
The 70,000-square-foot immersive venue will broadcast 40 World Cup matches on an 87-foot LED dome, opening June 10 as part of the $5 billion Centennial Yards entertainment district.
Georgia State's "A Pattern Language" student mural grows to 80 feet at 80 Forsyth St. SW in South Downtown.
Wounded Warrior Project veterans swam with Yushan the whale shark at Georgia Aquarium through its Military Salute program.
Bottle Rocket bar opens on Mitchell Street. Seventeen new foot-beat officers deploy to Zone 5. The MARTA A-Line is operational. Founders Green is under construction with trees, lights, and climbing mounds going in. And SoDo Atlanta wins Best in Atlanta Real Estate.
