2 days ago
Federal budget bill threatens ‘The Stitch' plan to reconnect downtown Atlanta
A plan to 'Stitch' together downtown could see delays if the federal government passes the budget as it is currently written.
'The Stitch' plan project, first proposed in 2019, is intended to reconnect communities in downtown Atlanta that were separated by the creation of the Downtown Connector.
As proposed, the project would build an urban park above the connector as a physical cap.
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The final plan would create approximately 17 acres of new space for developments and greenspace atop a new, 3⁄4-mile platform spanning the Downtown Connector between Ted Turner Drive and Piedmont Avenue.
Last year, the project announced it received a $157 million federal grant to help the project.
However, the federal funding needed for the project is now in jeopardy.
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Channel 2's Michael Doudna talked to Rev. Winnie Varghese, with St Luke's Episcopal Church, about the project.
'So the Stitch project is so poetic, a real sense of the vision of what it means to bring back a certain kind of life to downtown,' Rev. Winnie Varghese, with St Luke's Episcopal Church, said.
The Stitch would reconnect two halves of the city that were divided when the interstates were built.
The end goal would be to create real estate and green space that could create a new vibrant neighborhood for the city.
'That's unfortunate that, you know, a signed grant agreement from your federal government doesn't mean as much as it used to,' Central Atlanta Progress AJ Robinson said.
See, as Congress looks to pass a new budget bill, dubbed the 'One Big Beautiful Bill' by President Donald Trump, it includes cutting the $157 million promised to help the development.
'But now our construction dollars are in peril, and so we're working very hard to try to turn that situation around,' Robinson said.
Robinson said without the federal dollars, construction would likely be delayed at least a year, but the plans would not be stopped. He says they would look for funding elsewhere.
'We've been working on this for maybe 20 years. Hopefully, it doesn't take another 20 years, but I think the project speaks for itself,' Robinson said.
And during a political climate where almost every issue is divided by red and blue, many supporters say this infrastructure project is an investment that will pay dividends.
'The Stitch is a once-in-a-generational project. It's a big piece of infrastructure,' Robinson said.
'I hope the money comes through in the way that it was promised and committed. I would hope for that,' Varghese said.
The budget bill now sits before the Senate for approval.
Channel 2 Action News asked both senators their thoughts on the potential cut to the project.
In a statement, Sen. Rev. Raphael Warnock said: 'I'm proud to have secured federal funding for the Stitch and it's a shame Washington Republicans want to divert money away from this transformative economic development project to pay for a tax cut for billionaires. ... I will do everything in my power to protect this funding so Georgians can continue to reap the benefits of their tax dollars.'
Sen. Jon Ossoff is on paternity leave.
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