Nine months before the 2026 FIFA World Cup kicks off downtown, Centennial Yards is a multifaceted Atlanta megaproject if there ever was one. 

As our latest aerial tours photo essay over Atlanta illustrates, work on the 50-acre former Gulch is extending far beyond the glittery new apartment and hotel towers that now overlook Mercedes-Benz Stadium.  

Four construction cranes lord over Centennial Yards’ rising, 8-acre sports and entertainment district, where internal streets are taking shape. Next door, an elevated internal roadway is also being built next to active rail.  

Centennial Yards Company reps confirm to Urbanize Atlanta that a 14-story boutique hotel is currently being built—it’s about halfway toward topping out today—at the edge of the entertainment district farthest from Mercedes-Benz Stadium and State Farm Arena. No other details about the district’s second hotel were disclosed. 

Looking northwest, this angle shows vertical construction progress on the next Centennial Yards hotel (No. 1) and an elevated internal roadway (No. 2). Urbanize Atlanta

A few yards from the boutique hotel, the beginnings of vertical construction are moving forward on a new 5,300-person capacity live music and events venue, slated to open sometime in 2027, from entertainment giant Live Nation. 

That music venue will neighbor the third Cosm venue in the U.S., a three-story immersive entertainment concept that started going vertical in May and is almost fully enclosed and topped out. 

The entertainment district also includes a two-story, standalone retail component that is framed up now. 

Construction progress on the Live Nation music venue (No. 1), Cosm Atlanta (No. 2), a two-story retail component (No. 3), and the unnamed boutique hotel (No 4.) this week. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Meanwhile, 19-story Hotel Phoenix, scheduled to open in November, will include a Southern-inspired brasserie called Zephyr and poolside bar Bless Your Heart. [UPDATE: 6:23 p.m., Sept. 12: A Centennial Yards rep sends the following: "At this stage, we’re targeting an opening by the end of the year (construction permitting), but prefer not to reference a specific month just yet."]

And Centennial Yards’ first ground-up new construction project, the 19-story The Mitchell apartments, celebrated a grand opening last week for its 304 rentals and 16,000 square feet of retail. Khao Thai Isan, a Thai tapas concept from 26 Thai, will occupy 4,730 square feet of that non-residential space. Centennial Yards Company officials said last week more retail and dining operators will be announced for The Mitchell building in coming months. 

The dizzying megaproject fun doesn’t end there. 

A smaller boutique hotel component is also gearing up to break ground late this year, where Centennial Yards meets the Castleberry Hill loft and arts district, officials confirmed to Urbanize last week. 

North view to Buckhead over the downtown site. Note construction progress in the distance on Midtown's 1072 West Peachtree tower, Atlanta's tallest new building since the early 1990s. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Planned look of the unnamed music facility (middle), tucked beside Cosm and active railroad lines, facing State Farm Arena. Courtesy of Centennial Yards Company

Centennial Yards is expected to eventually cost $5 billion and span some 8 million square feet of mixed uses, described by its financial backers as one of the largest public-private partnerships in the U.S. right now. It’s backed by a nearly $2-billion tax-incentive package, a record for Atlanta. 

Ultimately, the 50-acre downtown venture is expected to bring more than 2,000 residential units (at least 200 of them deemed affordable), more than 2,000 hotel rooms, and roughly 1 million square feet of retail across a decade of development. 

Aerial view of the recently opened The Mitchell apartments (left) and Hotel Phoenix, where work on exterior amenities levels continues. Urbanize Atlanta

Overall, 8 million square feet of residential and commercial construction are planned. 

In the gallery above, find a look at Centennial Yards construction progress today and as much context as is currently available, from virtually every angle. 

...

Follow us on social media: 

Twitter / Facebook/and now: Instagram  

• Downtown news, discussion (Urbanize Atlanta)