⚡ CFB Dashboard

Of the 78 current downtown development projects, many will benefit Georgia State because of their proximity. Projects around Underground Atlanta, Five Points MARTA Station, Sweet Auburn, and the Georgia-Pacific redevelopment are bringing new residents, retail, restaurants, and amenities to downtown. I also want to emphasize how important and unusual it is to have this many large projects surrounding the campus. Four mega-projects stand out for their potential impact on Georgia State and Georgia State Athletics: Centennial Yards, South Downtown, The Stitch, and the BeltLine Southside Trail. Together, these projects are reshaping the areas around Georgia State and reinforcing the university’s position at the center of Atlanta’s growth. More importantly, they give Georgia State a rare advantage: being surrounded by multiple transformative developments occurring simultaneously in the heart of a major city. Centennial Yards, located roughly half a mile from campus, is transforming the former Gulch into a 50-acre mixed-use district with housing, offices, entertainment venues, restaurants, hotels, and public spaces. The $5 billion project is expected to bring thousands of new residents, increase pedestrian activity, improve perceptions of downtown, and create partnership opportunities with nearby businesses. Conservative estimates suggest it could add more than 3,000 residents to downtown. South Downtown, adjacent to Underground Atlanta and bordering Georgia State, may be even more consequential. The redevelopment of dozens of historic buildings between Five Points and Underground Atlanta will add housing, retail, restaurants, offices, and entertainment space while preserving much of the district’s historic character. Because students already move through the area daily, the project could significantly strengthen Georgia State’s integration into downtown while creating opportunities for future campus expansion and complementary development. The Stitch, roughly half a mile east of campus, will create 14 to 17 acres of park space over the Downtown Connector, reconnecting downtown with Midtown and nearby neighborhoods. Although it may not directly generate new fans or students, it can improve perceptions of downtown, encourage residential development, and increase Georgia State’s visibility within a more unified urban core. The BeltLine Southside Trail extends these benefits toward Summerhill and neighborhoods south of downtown. Intersecting Hank Aaron Drive near Center Parc Stadium, it will connect redevelopment activity across Peoplestown, Summerhill, and eventually Centennial Yards through transit-accessible corridors. For athletics, it may have the greatest long-term significance by strengthening the case for continued development of Georgia State’s Summerhill athletics district while improving walkability and access to a broader network of neighborhoods and public spaces. Viewed together, these projects form a ring of investment around Georgia State. Centennial Yards activates downtown’s western edge, The Stitch reconnects downtown and Midtown, South Downtown transforms the area immediately surrounding campus, and the BeltLine Southside Trail extends growth into Summerhill, Peoplestown, Pittsburgh, and Atlanta’s southside neighborhoods. Georgia State sits at the center of all four. Their importance for athletics is not that any single project will create a large fan base, but that together they help create something Georgia State has historically lacked: a dense, connected, walkable population surrounding both the downtown campus and Summerhill. If these projects reach their full potential, Georgia State could become the anchor institution of a continuous urban corridor stretching from Midtown through Downtown and South Downtown into Summerhill and the BeltLine neighborhoods. Realizing that opportunity will require strategic real estate decisions, partnerships, long-term planning, and a brand that fully embraces Georgia State’s position in Atlanta’s core. Few universities can credibly market themselves as Atlanta’s college athletics program, embedded in the city and connected to its growth. As downtown evolves, Georgia State has an opportunity to strengthen that identity and build deeper connections with the residents, businesses, and communities emerging around campus. But how can they do ? Branding!