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The latest design for Centennial Yards, the $5 billion redevelopment project slated for downtown Atlanta, has additional pedestrian access and outdoor gathering spaces, a new site plan shows.
The mixed-use mini-city would be accessible across the street from State Farm Arena and Mercedes Benz Stadium, according to the renderings. That land is currently a sea of parking lots and rail lines below street level, and is known as the Gulch.
The layout was made to fit the surrounding city grid and connect neighborhoods around downtown, and was refined based on feedback. The updated plan features more walkability with shared corridors, plazas and gathering spots, according to the Centennial Yards Company.
Credit: DBOX
Credit: DBOX
Developers and city leaders envision the project as a destination for the metro area that can revitalize downtown Atlanta with retail, food, office, housing and entertainment options.
“Every great city has a great downtown — where employees want to work, tourists want to visit and, most importantly, residents want to live,” Brian McGowan, the president of the Centennial Yards Company, said in a statement. McGowan is the former CEO of Invest Atlanta and the Atlanta Beltline.
Construction at the first portion of the 50-acre site, which will include a mix of apartments, office space, retail and a brewery, kicked off earlier this year.
Credit: DBOX for Centennial Yards
Credit: DBOX for Centennial Yards
Centennial Yards also recently applied for a special administrative permit, which could set the stage for vertical development at the rest of the site, the company said.
Centennial Yards got the green light with an incentive package that could equal about $1.9 billion in bonds and reimbursements, not including interest, through 2048, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported in 2018. The deal drew criticism since those tax dollars normally would be paid to the state, city, Fulton County and Atlanta Public Schools. But supporters of the project argued the community benefits that developers agreed to outweigh the public cost.
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