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DOWNTOWN—Plans are coming into clearer focus for what’s now the only highway-capping project left on the table in downtown and Midtown, after the Connector Park concept officially bowed out of the running for local, federal, and philanthropic funding last month.

As Rough Draft Atlanta relays, project officials leading the charge to build downtown’s Stitch released new details and renderings at a town hall event Wednesday, showing how the park’s first 4.5-acre phase will cap the Connector between Peachtree and Courtland streets, alongside upgrades to existing street corridors. Some $200 million is in the bank to get the project underway (engineering is ongoing, as we speak), and phase-one construction is expected to kick off in either 2026 or 2027. The forecast for the full 14 acres being open, however, is now estimated at 2036, pending funding.

Long-term Stitch vision and potential downtown impact. The Stitch/Central Atlanta Progress

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DOWNTOWN—A towering, relatively affordable downtown proposal geared toward low and middle-income Atlantans that’s already been three years in the making is showing concrete signs of life.

The Development Authority of Fulton County is reportedly set to issue up to $370 million in federally tax-exempt bonds to support the development of workforce housing project Teachers Village Atlanta, according to the Atlanta Business Chronicle.

The 98 Cone St. project, which is being put together by a local affiliate of New Jersey-based real estate firm RBH Group, now calls for 426 apartments total, with about 26,000 square feet of retail at the base and 9,000 square feet of amenities in the building.

A revised look at the Teachers Village project's planned retail space where Ted Turner Drive, at left, meets Walton Street. RBH Group; designs, S9 Architecture

RBH has described the 375-foot-tall downtown proposal as a first for Georgia, in that all apartments would be marketed to teachers, other school employees, and seniors in Atlanta as affordable living options. More than half of the rentals will be reserved for independent living seniors, with the remaining units (roughly 200) considered workforce housing. Estimated rents haven't been specified. 

Invest Atlanta in 2021 approved more than $30 million in bond and grant financing for developing the homes set aside for teachers. (Find the latest Teachers Village renderings and more project context over here.)

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OLD FOURTH WARD—The hulking Old Fourth Ward complex that is the former Atlanta Medical Center has been shuttered since Halloween 2002, marking nearly two years of idleness, development moratoriums, and contemplation as to what could (or should) be done with it. But brighter, more vibrant days just might be ahead for the property—at some point in the future.

A main building at the Atlanta Medical Center complex in July. Google Maps

Redevelopment talks are gaining momentum that could turn the Wellstar Health System facility into a quintessential mixed-use hub of housing, retail, office space, and parks—but to the chagrin of some observers, no medical uses.

With the latest moratorium set to expire in October, the city’s Department of City Planning is sharing tentative plans with neighbors for a long-term reimagining of the medical complex, as the AJC reports. No timeline has been specified, but the well-positioned site reportedly has potential to house 2.4 million square feet of residential units. Elsewhere would be 120,000 square feet of commercial and retail, along with 240,000 square feet of offices.

An 11-story hospital tower and other aged structures could be retained and converted to mixed uses, but demolition of other buildings is estimated to cost $25 million alone.

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CITYWIDE—In what could be good news for vibrancy and housing options near the 22-mile Beltline loop and within a half-mile of MARTA stations, the Atlanta City Council is set to vote Tuesday on a ban for the development of data centers in those areas. As Bisnow Atlanta reports, the separate measures (bans near the Beltline and MARTA hubs, that is) have been cosponsored by every city council member, who generally feel it’s a good idea to keep server farms with few jobs away from hotbeds of growth where housing and commercial opportunities could be created.

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