Tag: Centennial Yards

There’s a lot going on downtown these days.

Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens stepped out onto a balcony at The Mitchell, one of the newest downtown apartment buildings, and took a look around at all that has taken place and continues to take place. Located across Centennial Olympic Park Drive from Mercedes-Benz Stadium, The Mitchell can be seen as the perfect example of what should be expected from downtown living going forward. Only a few feet away, Hotel Phoenix is still undergoing renovations, and just a few more feet away is COSM, a mixed-use entertainment venue located within Centennial Yards, which is also getting the construction treatment. 

Dickens, currently two weeks away from a second election night and a potential second term as his hometown city’s mayor, likes what he sees. The mayor says the growth of the city of Atlanta can directly be connected to what its downtown looks and feels like.

“I’m excited about downtown. Full stop,” said Dickens. “I want to see downtown come back and be better than ever before. I want to have people living here, working here, and entertained here. Just gathering downtown.” 

One of the latest additions to the downtown scenery, The Mitchell, is a 304-unit, 300,000-square-foot, 19-story residential project. The building is part of the billion-dollar revitalization of what was once called ‘The Gulch,” and is now part of one of the country’s most ambitious urban renewal projects. With less than a year before thousands of visitors come to downtown Atlanta for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, arguably the most popular sporting event on the planet, everything looks a lot different from the last time there was a global sporting event in downtown Atlanta. 

“Cities across America have been struggling because downtowns are struggling, and Atlanta has been finding a way to bring back downtown,” Dickens said. “We’re doing it with Centennial Yards, South Downtown, and the area around Underground and Five Points. Over the next two years, you’re going to see it all come together.”

The landscape of downtown Atlanta looks nothing like it did several decades ago, or even last year. On MLK, Jr. Drive, which was once full of Baptist and A.M.E. churches, now has towering apartment buildings popping out of the ground. The man behind the rooftops on The Mitchell and COSM, Evolve Contractors, a Black-owned commercial roofing and construction company, is Channing Baker, and he believes the timing couldn’t be better for all involved in the return of downtown.

“It feels incredible. It’s the best timing because of the opportunities that Atlanta has provided,” Baker, owner of Evolve Contractors, said. “So far, the feedback has been that we have outperformed expectations.” 

Baker told The Atlanta Voice that the rooftop on COSM is “about 90% completed.” 

And that’s good because, along with the FIFA World Cup, next year will be the 30th anniversary of the 1996 Summer Olympic Games, which took place in Atlanta and several metro Atlanta counties, including Clayton, Hall, and Rockdale counties. The world came to see Atlanta as much more than a sleepy southern city, and the World Cup will further elevate the city’s international reputation alongside the busiest airport in the country, Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. 

On “Downtown Day”, Wednesday, Oct. 22, Dickens toured several sites, including Atlanta Fire Department Station 1, which serves downtown, including Castleberry Hill, and local businesses such as Wild Leap, a restaurant underneath the Steele Bridge. There, Dickens shook hands and held conversations with patrons. There are so many things to do downtown, including grabbing a meal before the Atlanta Hawks season opener against the visiting Toronto Raptors across the street at State Farm Arena. 

Fire Station 1 is centrally located in the midst of all the change taking place downtown. Atlanta Fire Department Assistant Fire Chief for Station 1, Dwayne Johnson, said the growth means a lot to the city and its citizens, but it also means there is more of downtown to serve.

“There’s growth everywhere, and from a fire department perspective, that means we have our job cut out for us,” Johnson said. “With growth comes growth.”

Dickens welcomes the growth.

“I want this downtown to be one of the marquee downtowns in our nation,” said Dickens, who attended the Hawks game and received a loud ovation from the capacity crowd when he was shown on the big overhead screen. “I want it to be one of the top 10 downtowns in America that you can come to and get everything you need from a great home to a fantastic night on the town, and you can also work down here with the jobs, technology companies, and small businesses. So, I want it to work for everybody.” 

Asked how far away this ambitious goal for downtown was from happening, Dickens said, “We are probably seven months from when people really see it, and about 24 months from when it’s like when everything will be done. I think we’re right on time with the revitalization.” 

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