Like The BeltLine, 'The Stitch' Could Be Development Game-Changer For Atlanta

October 5,2018

The Atlanta BeltLine has been a game-changer for the Metro Atlanta market, spurring on a gentrification and development renaissance around its 22-mile loop into a string of dense urban neighborhoods.

But there is another potential project that could be the next game-changer for the city. And no, it's not The Gulch.

“I think The Stitch would alter development patterns in a huge way, much like the BeltLine has,” EpiCity Director of Development Jim LaVallee told an audience at Bisnow's Atlanta's Urban Core event on Wednesday.

The Stitch, as it is known, is a proposed $300M decked public park that would cover nearly a mile of Interstate 75/85 from Spring Street to Georgia Power's current headquarters on Ralph McGill Boulevard, creating a massive green-space link between Downtown and Midtown and open up under-used land to development. Central Atlanta Progress is currently conducting a feasibility study on the proposal.

“With respect to the BeltLine, I tell people, when historians look back, it will be up there with the building of [Interstate] 285 and the international airport about how it affected Atlanta and development patterns,” LaVallee said.

Other panelists echoed those sentiments about The Stitch during Wednesday morning's event at Bank of America Plaza, where topics ranged from office activity in Midtown to the health of the hotel market and a spree of downtown investment. Some panelists say a project like The Stitch could do more for Downtown's revitalization than almost any other project.

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