A year and change after breaking ground, the first new building at the Gulch’s multi-billion-dollar planned overhaul has crested above nearby streets, marking a milestone for a downtown redevelopment generations in the making.

Centennial Yards Company officials noted on social media recently their first ground-up new tower (apartments) in the Gulch has reached a point in construction above viaduct level.

"History is... being made," project officials wrote on Instagram. "For over a century, there has been a hole in the heart of the city. A hole that Centennial Yards is filling."

A Saturday visit to the construction site—where Centennial Olympic Park Drive meets Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive, across the street from Mercedes-Benz Stadium—showed the second new building under development (the Anthem hotel) has yet to go vertical but was teeming with weekend crews.

Centennial Yards' 18-story apartment tower—the first ground-up new building of many planned in the Gulch—has crested over raised nearby streets. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Both new buildings will stand 18 stories between The Benz and active railroad tracks below. And both are scheduled to deliver in 2025, according to Centennial Yards Company leadership.

A dignitary-studded groundbreaking ceremony was held in the Gulch for the 304-unit apartment tower and 292-key hotel in November 2022. Collectively, 20 percent of Centennial Yards apartments will be reserved as affordable housing across the full megaproject, the development team has said.

Los Angeles-based developer CIM Group christened its $5-billion Gulch transformation Centennial Yards about six years ago, but the first construction crane wasn’t erected until last spring.

Construction crews at work in the Gulch on a Saturday afternoon. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Signage that will face The Benz. Courtesy of Centennial Yards Company

Eventually, Centennial Yards is expected to create a dozen city blocks across 50 acres, with about 750,000 square feet of retail in the mix, all backed by a nearly $2-billion tax-incentive package, a record for Atlanta. Developers have said completing the project is likely to take at least a decade.

In the gallery above, find more context, current construction photos, and glimpses of where Centennial Yards’ first new-construction section is headed.  

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