LISTEN: Officials behind the 17-acre park plan The Stitch will continue to work towards a groundbreaking in 2026 despite federal funding cuts. GPB's Amanda Andrews reports.
An ambitious project to put a green park on top of one of the most notorious traffic snarls in Georgia is back on.
Atlanta shared it is moving forward with The Stitch in its 2025 State of Downtown report. It’s a $700 million project that would place a 17-acre greenspace over a portion of Interstate 75 and 85 in downtown Atlanta.
The development lost $157 million when President Donald Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act in summer that cut federal spending across the nation. But Mayor Andre Dickens said the cuts won’t derail the project.
“Thanks to the strong partnership that includes Central Atlanta Progress, GDOT, and the City of Atlanta and other funding sources, we're going to get this done,” Dickens said.
The city is continuing to explore funding options with federal partners. The project is one of Atlanta’s top development priorities. Dickens said once its completed The Stitch would generate $9 billion in economic impact.
“North Downtown would no longer be the place that people just pass through," he said. "Instead, it'll be a place where they live, work, and gather. This transformational investment is the missing piece that connects us between Midtown and downtown.”
Right now, The Stitch only has $50 million, a quarter of the funding needed to complete its Phase 1. Jack Cebe, who is Stitch project manager with the nonprofit Central Atlanta Progress, said that money is going towards construction.
“We're looking at ways to basically, break that Phase 1 project, which is a lot of different components, into smaller components so we can move forward very, very soon," he said. “The fact of the matter is the momentum is there, the support is there, there is funding there.”
Groundbreaking for The Stitch is expected by mid-2026.
