ATLANTA — The developer behind Centennial Yards aims to complete two-thirds of its massive Downtown project in time for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Centennial Yards Co., owned by Los Angeles-based CIM Group, is filing permits for an entertainment-focused phase of the project, according to a Monday news release. It plans to start construction in June on several new buildings, adding 480,000 square feet of entertainment, retail, and restaurant space to the central business district.
An eight-acre site close to State Farm Arena and Mercedes Benz Stadium would be filled with an "immersive eatertainment concept" housed in a three-story building, four-story entertainment venue for a single tenant, two-story building for food and beverage tenants, 14-story hotel with 233 rooms and a fan gathering plaza. Communal spaces and pedestrian walkways would be blended into the district, according to the news release.
Centennial Yard's Co. President, Brian McGowan explained how he's giving "The Gulch" a makeover.
"We have a 50-acre hole in the middle of our downtown that makes it not walkable, disconnects communities," McGowan said. "This is going to fill the hole in the heart of the city."
The next phase would join a couple of 18-story towers currently under construction. Set to deliver in 2025, those buildings will add 300 apartments, 292 hotel rooms, and 30,000 square feet of new commercial space for restaurants and retailers.
"That's five or 6,000 people living downtown. So, it's going to be a new neighborhood," McGowan said.
Atlanta resident Suzanne Atkins said she wouldn't mind another entertainment space.
"I appreciate the fact that they're re-doing an area that, kind of, looks not too good right now," Atkins said.
Atkins said she worries there is an overwhelming amount of construction in that area. She and other drivers tell 11Alive they wonder if this will add to the traffic.
"There's so much--so many condos, and so many townhomes, and so many apartments that [are] going up in this very, small area that it's just getting more and more and more and more congested," Atkins said.
Neighbors want to make sure the business is going directly back into the community.
McGowan maintains that there will be affordable housing. And parking will be underneath, like at The Underground, in Midtown. And he wants the project to connect communities that have been separated for decades.
"20% of all the units we build will be affordable. We also have a 38% minority female business enterprise goal. So, 38% of the overall spend of the project will be with minority female business enterprises," McGowan said. "We're going to build a police substation in here. We're going to build a fire station in here."
The surrounding community will hold McGowan to his word. Atkins hopes those behind the project will not only focus on big events but also the future.
"After FIFA is gone, hopefully, we can sustain the area," Atkins said.
McGowan said the rest of the project is set for completion in 2030.