ATLANTA – Today, Congresswoman Nikema Williams (GA-05) announced a $1,160,000 federal investment in The Stitch. Joining Congresswoman Williams for the announcement was Atlanta Downtown Improvement District & Central Atlanta Progress President A.J. Robinson. The investment is a Community Project Funding Request secured by Congresswoman Williams. This funding is the largest-ever federal investment in The Stitch and is the first engineering-phase funding for The Stitch. When complete, The Stitch will cap the Downtown Connector from Civic Center MARTA Station at West Peachtree Street and Piedmont Avenue. 

Congresswoman Nikema Williams (GA-05), a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee said: 

“The Stitch will improve everyone’s quality of life. We will reclaim a massive part of our city with a beautiful new greenspace, mitigate environmental damage from highway traffic, and build dignified affordable housing. My constituents tell me these are three of the most important issues facing Atlanta and I’m proud to invest in solutions. The Stitch will also help undo nearly 60 years of injustice. The Downtown Connector was built as part of the 1956 Federal-Aid Highway Act which intentionally divided Black communities across the country. It was racial injustice plain and simple. While we can’t and don’t seek to remove the Connector, I can take steps to undo the damage it has caused–starting with reconnecting our communities.”

Atlanta Downtown Improvement District & Central Atlanta Progress President A.J. Robinson said: 

“The Community Project Funding for the Stitch, the largest federal funding for the project to-date designated by Congresswoman Williams office, will help us kick the advancement of the Stitch into full gear.”

Stitch Development Manager Jack Cebe said: 

“The Stitch will mitigate the wrongs of the past by reconnecting north Downtown and creating a new diverse community. Locally, this will improve livability and the Downtown value gap. More broadly, it will address Atlanta’s issues of affordable housing supply and attracting/retaining a competitive workforce & jobs to match. Features of the Stitch include catalyzing and supporting over 3,000 new affordable housing units and 14 million square feet of development, creating a lively and sustainable new 14-acre park in Downtown, enhancing the MARTA Civic Center Station, retrofitting existing streets to be more walkable and bikeable, and improving safety and operations on the interstate.”

CONTACT: PressGA05@mail.house.gov 

Congresswoman Nikema Williams proudly serves Georgia’s Fifth Congressional District. Congresswoman Williams serves on the exclusive Financial Services Committee where she is Vice Chair of the Oversight and Investigations subcommittee, the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and the Select Committee for the Modernization of Congress. She is Freshman Class President and Co-Chairs the Congressional Voting Rights Caucus. Congresswoman Williams builds on the Fifth District’s legacy as the cradle of the civil rights movement as a champion of voting rights, closing the racial wealth gap, and ensuring the promise of America for all–regardless of their ZIP code or bank account.

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