Central Atlanta Progress’s (CAP) 114-page concept study surfaced this week outlining a vision to convert a portion of the interstate highway into the project.

Plans this week surfaced for The Stitch, a project that envisions capping the Downtown Connector by constructing a ¾-mile platform over the highway, extending from the Civic Center MARTA station at West Peachtree Street to Piedmont Avenue.

The Stitch Atlanta 1

Central Atlanta Progress (CAP) and the Atlanta Downtown Improvement District (ADID) have been leading the charge to advance the project, working with Jacobs Engineering to produce the initial concept study in 2015.

“This new space would create urban greenspace and foster new development both atop and adjacent to the platform,” according to CAP website. “The project will fill the void between Downtown and Midtown, disjointed years ago due to construction of the interstate.”

The Stitch Atlanta 2

The Stitch gets its name from the “re-stitching” of the neighborhoods bringing “about a unified central business district for the City of Atlanta.”

The concept study imagined three “character zones” programmed with a variety of uses:

The Stitch Atlanta 5
Emory Square: A dynamic urban plaza set atop a regional bus terminal. The plaza will connect St. Luke’s Episcopal Church on the west to a re-imagined Emory Square MARTA station, as well as to Emory’s future “Medical Arts Institute” building and to new retail and residential areas.
The Stitch Atlanta 3
Peachtree Green: A 3-acre town green with active program elements on all sides including water features, a restaurant and café, a pavilion space for markets and art shows, an art walk, a “Mayor’s Walk,” and a civic heroes memorial.
The Stitch Atlanta 4
Energy Park: A mixed-use residential area intertwined with an urban park made up of lawns, a dog park, a playground, water features, a splash pad, a flex-use pavilion, and a garden walk. Its location next to Georgia Power’s headquarters will provide opportunities to use green construction and power technologies.

Here’s CAP’s concept study in its entirety:

A construction timeline for the $300 Million project has not been set as the project is still conceptual. Next steps to advance the vision of The Stitch include completing a detailed civil engineering survey, a technical feasibility study and a schematic design.