Senators Reverend Warnock and Ossoff announced that The Stitch, a transformational investment that proposes to reclaim nearly 14 acres of greenspace atop a new ¾ mile platform spanning the 1-75/I-85 Downtown Connector between the Civic Center MARTA Center at West Peachtree Street and Piedmont Avenue, received a $900,000 planning grant from Department of Transportation’s Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) program.
According to City Officials, the funds will develop The Stitch in downtown Atlanta, a proposed investment to reclaim and provide access to urban greenspace, create new, affordable housing, reconnect communities divided by existing infrastructure barriers.
The Stitch will also connect communities with safer pedestrian options and help restore communities divided by highways running through the city.
As reported earlier in the month by What Now Atlanta, the award follows Senators Warnock and Ossoff’s recent announcement of a $16.5 million award from the RAISE program to complete the Beltline’s Southside Trail and their procurement of multiple measures for Georgia within the bipartisan infrastructure deal—recently signed into law—that will invest in cleaner, greener infrastructure throughout the state; this includes Senator Warnock’s successful efforts to secure $1 billion in the package specifically to help fund community-connecting transportation projects like The Stitch.
“This project has the potential to transform the connector, bridging the Westside and Eastside with greenspace and pedestrian-friendly development. I look forward to welcoming Secretary Buttigieg back to Georgia in the coming months to brief him on all the exciting opportunities to improve quality of life in our state,” said Senator Ossoff.
According to the Downtown Atlanta website and building on an article by What Now Atlanta, ‘The roots of The Stitch date back to 2001 and plans for a new “Mayors Park” to honor mayors Maynard Jackson and Ivan Allen Jr. In the subsequent years, the initial vision and proposals evolved through CAP/ADID’s Imagine Downtown Plan, an Urban Land Institute Center for Leadership Technical Advisory Program analysis, and the I-75/85 Connector Transformation vision plan. Building on the momentum of these studies, CAP/ADID funded the development of The Stitch Vision Plan in 2015.
“Everyone in our communities is better off when we bridge physical divides, invest in green space, and connect residents to all the resources and economic opportunities around them,” said Senator Reverend Warnock.” Projects like The Stitch do just that, and I’m going to keep proudly pushing to bring more federal investments to innovative, economy-boosting ideas that help Georgians get around their communities and thrive.”
