Newsroom
Get the story behind the places, faces, and current events shaping the downtownATL district.
The Southeastern Conference extended its agreement to hold its football championship game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium through at least 2031, with a five-year option that could keep the game in Atlanta through 2036.
From the streets of Lagos in "Captain America: Civil War" to the sidewalks of New York in "Avengers: Infinity War," downtown Atlanta's blocks have doubled for cities around the world — earning Georgia the nickname Hollywood of the South.
A $2.9 million trail project will create a three-quarter-mile pedestrian and bicycle connection between the Upper Westside and the BeltLine's Westside Connector — feeding directly into the network that reaches downtown Atlanta.
More than 500 current and former CNN employees gathered at CNN Center in downtown Atlanta to celebrate the network's 43rd anniversary. Founder Ted Turner sent a letter declaring the network's story is far from over.
South Downtown's first food and beverage concept, TydeTate Kitchen, is set to open April 15 at 229 Mitchell St. in the renovated Historic Hotel Row. The counter-service Thai comfort food restaurant comes from the sibling duo behind the Chattahoochee Food Works location.
A 10-acre site in Castleberry Hill and downtown Atlanta pitched as a multi-high-rise life sciences campus was foreclosed upon by its lender after developer Urbantec Development Partners failed to break ground. The previous owner, McCall Railroad LLC, reacquired the property at auction for $20 million.
Chef Bella Jones is opening Liz & Leon's at 231 Mitchell St. in Historic Hotel Row this fall, a restaurant paying homage to her grandparents and showcasing African diaspora cuisine. A secret bar called Sweet Gigi's will operate beneath the restaurant, connected via a shared outdoor terrace.
Olympic sprinter Noah Lyles headlined the inaugural adidas Atlanta City Games at Centennial Olympic Park in May 2023 — a free, world-class track and field meet that returned elite competition to the site of the 1996 Olympics.
Wild Leap Brew Co. is set to open an ambitious second location at Centennial Yards in downtown Atlanta on Dec. 26, featuring a multi-level brewery, taproom, and event space along Ted Turner Drive. The 15,000-plus square-foot venue will offer 96 taps, exclusive beers, spirits, food, and a speakeasy-style private event space.
The College Football Playoff announced that Mercedes-Benz Stadium would host the first national championship game under the new 12-team format on January 20, 2025 — bringing the biggest game in college football to downtown Atlanta.
The National Center for Civil and Human Rights in downtown Atlanta announced a $48 million expansion in 2022 — adding two new wings, a 10,000 square-foot education space, and a permanent home for the Morehouse College Martin Luther King Jr. Collection.
Atlanta's selection as a 2026 World Cup host city has accelerated major downtown development projects, pushing Centennial Yards, South Downtown, and Underground Atlanta to compress timelines. Developers say the tournament deadline is turning aspirational 2027-2028 targets into firm 2025-2026 deliverables.
Newport, the German real estate firm redeveloping Historic Hotel Row, announced plans for two new residential high-rises totaling 650 apartments on South Broad Street in South Downtown. The 18- and 21-story towers will also include about 70,000 square feet of retail space.
Dragon Con drew 65,000 attendees to downtown Atlanta over Labor Day weekend 2022 — the convention's second year back after going digital-only during the pandemic — and raised a record $190,000 for Open Hand Atlanta.
Six office towers and the shopping mall at Peachtree Center were taken back by their lender Tuesday in one of the largest foreclosures in Atlanta since the Great Recession. The future of the landmark downtown complex remains in flux as new ownership reverts to investors.
