Video surfaces that brings downtown’s Centennial Yards to life

Josh Green

Fri, 12/06/2024 – 12:37

^ Complete with selfie-popping lovebirds and Trae Young three-point bombs, a video has come to light that shows in technicolor how Centennial Yards’ centralized fun zone is expected to look and function in less than two years.

As eagle-eyed readers point out, the Vimeo clip comes courtesy of Apex Visualization, the company behind the latest Centennial Yards renderings for the project’s 8-acre, mixed-use entertainment hub, which is set to be anchored by a Cosm entertainment dome.

That aspect of the former downtown Gulch—with other components that include a mid-rise hotel, bars and restaurants, and a fan plaza at the center—has started vertical infrastructure construction. Centennial Yards Company officials have said the structures will be finished in time for eight FIFA World Cup matches set to be played in Atlanta, beginning in June 2026.

More broadly, Centennial Yards’ infrastructure designs call for creating a dozen city blocks downtown, with a police mini precinct, a new fire station, and public greenspaces tucked among them. It’s expected to cost in the ballpark of $5 billion overall.

Centennial Yards is considered a partnership between the Atlanta Development Authority, the City of Atlanta, and Los Angeles-based developer CIM Group, among other stakeholders. The 50-acre megaproject’s first ground-up new residential tower, the 304-unit The Mitchell, topped out in August.

In an August reader poll asking which of downtown’s major projects will be most impactful and beneficial for the city, Centennial Yards captured 40 percent of more than 1,300 public votes, winning by a significant margin. The development has since caught flak for not delivering on affordable-housing promises with current projects.

A fresh perspective on a main dining and retail corridor with a large screen for sports at Centennial Yards. Centennial Yards images by Apex Visualization

Centennial Yards images by Apex Visualization