Atlanta councilman fighting to reconnect communities lost to I-75/85 connector

ATLANTA — Atlanta City Councilman Amir Farokhi and several other city leaders are pushing Washington D.C. to help fund a program to reconnect the communities that once lived where interstates 75 and 85 run through downtown Atlanta.

“The stitch is a great step to repair that divide. You saw in the 50′s and 60′s the interstate systems went through center cities, primarily displacing low- and middle-income Black neighborhoods and that’s what happened here,” Farokhi told Channel 2′s Dave Huddleston.

The 14-acre project would take shape from West Peachtree Street to Courtland Street and add green space and affordable housing.

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“It should be part of any housing conversation in the city,” Farokhi said.

Channel 2 Action News got copies of letters of support from both Senator Jon Ossoff and Senator Raphael Warnock and Atlanta’s congressional leader that represents this area.

They want to help secure a $10.5 million grant to start the project. 

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Even though it may stitch the neighbor back together, Farokhi said it may be too late to bring back the community,

“Will it bring residents back where they were before, no, but we have a chance to add a lot of housing and a lot of affordable housing,” he explained.

The total project will cost about $713 million.

Several other cities, including Boston, Philadelphia and Chicago, have similar projects over their downtown interstates.

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