The Stitch Was Supposed to Be Shovel-Ready This Summer. That Milestone Is Now 2027.

The Stitch has been one of Downtown Atlanta's biggest ideas for years: cap part of the Downtown Connector and build new public space over the highway. Earlier this year, the project was expected to become shovel-ready this summer.

Summer came. That did not happen. The latest timeline puts shovel-ready status in 2027.

What did move is the organization. Lee Harrop has joined as vice president of design and delivery. Caroline Ballard Leake has joined as vice president of communications and development. Money has been secured to keep design work moving. Behind the scenes, this is a project staffing up and funding its next phase of drawings.

That is the tension I keep coming back to. Organizational progress is not construction progress. A leadership team and a funded design budget are real things, and they are the things a project needs before dirt moves. They are also the things that can keep advancing for years while the milestone residents were told to watch for keeps sliding forward on the calendar.

So here is where The Stitch stands. The project is still moving. The milestone Atlantans were supposed to see this summer has moved another year away. Both of those are true at once, and holding them together is the honest read.

The question worth sitting with: does this delay change how confident you are that The Stitch actually gets built?