Newsroom
Get the story behind the places, faces, and current events shaping the downtownATL district.
Hundreds joined Ambassador Andrew Young for a peace walk from Centennial Olympic Park to Peace Park on March 10, 2022, celebrating the 90th birthday of the civil rights leader, former mayor, and architect of modern Atlanta.
Slater Hospitality, the team behind Ponce City Market's 9 Mile Station, is set to open a rooftop diner and cocktail lounge at 222 Mitchell Street in South Downtown, slated for Summer 2023.
Intuit's $12 billion acquisition of Atlanta-based Mailchimp — one of the largest exits for a homegrown tech company — marks a milestone for the city's tech ecosystem, which has grown largely independently with entrepreneurs like David Cummings reinvesting returns into local ventures.
Pins Mechanical Company, a game bar from Columbus-based Rise Brands, is set to open a 25,000-square-foot venue at 222 Mitchell Street in downtown Atlanta as part of the South Dwntn development. The open-air space will feature duckpin bowling, three full bars, an outdoor courtyard, and rooftop patios.
The Historic Hotel Row project on Mitchell Street will welcome a new pizza shop from Slater Hospitality and an underground cocktail bar featuring an Outkast mural. The How Crispy team will also open a new concept in the South Downtown redevelopment.
The redevelopment of the Gulch in downtown Atlanta is officially underway, with the $5 billion Centennial Yards project kicking off its first phase covering six acres of mixed-use development. The ribbon-cutting marks the start of a sweeping effort to transform 50 acres of parking lots and rail lines into a mini-city near CNN Center, State Farm Arena, and Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Atlanta's Department of City Planning is proposing a complete redesign of a 1.2-mile stretch of Peachtree Street as a "shared space" for walkers, bicyclists and cars. The initiative draws inspiration from pedestrian-friendly corridors in London and Seattle, aiming to bring more street life to a corridor that city officials say is not currently a lively urban place.
The Georgia Music Accord, co-chaired by Ludacris and entertainment lawyer Joel Katz, launched a campaign to build a Grammy Museum in downtown Atlanta — backed by a $500,000 state-funded feasibility study and a vision to honor the state that produced James Brown, the Allman Brothers, and R.E.M.
Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms unveiled a two-year, $5 million plan to redesign 20 streets and corridors across Atlanta after a series of e-scooter fatalities and pedestrian deaths — including one at a downtown intersection that prompted residents to form a human-protected bike lane.
WarnerMedia announced in June 2020 that CNN Center — the downtown Atlanta landmark that served as CNN's global headquarters for four decades — would be put on the market.
In November 2019, Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms announced that Atlanta would not hold the Peach Drop for New Year's Eve — the first cancellation in the event's 30-year history, driven by the sale of Underground Atlanta and logistical complications.
In 2019, the Metro Atlanta Chamber celebrated 160 years — a span that included founding the city's first business advocacy organization in 1859, landing three Super Bowls, recruiting the third-highest concentration of Fortune 500 headquarters in America, and launching ChooseATL to attract the next generation.
Future, a cabaret, restaurant and dance club designed for LGBTQ+ patrons, will occupy a 14,000 square-foot space in downtown Atlanta's redeveloped Underground project. Owners Keith Young and Hoosh Mishu secured a 10-year lease at the southwest corner of Pryor and Alabama streets.
By 2019, Atlanta United was averaging 52,000 fans per game — more than double the MLS average — and ranking in the global top 10 for club attendance. The supporter culture that built that number was as diverse as the city itself.
The Atlanta nonprofit that uses soccer to teach leadership, discipline, and job skills to underserved youth celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2019 — by then operating mini-soccer fields at MARTA stations including Five Points and building what it calls the world's first transit league.
