ATLANTA, GA – On September 24, 2025, the Council for Quality Growth and Atlanta Beltline, Inc. co-hosted The 2025 State of the Beltline address and breakfast at The Eastern, a state-of-the-art theater adjacent to the Atlanta Beltline Eastside Trail. Over 350 Council for Quality Growth members of the development community, business leaders, elected officials, and other Beltline stakeholders gathered to hear this biennial update from the project’s leadership. The State of the Beltline concluded the Council’s annual series of “State of” events, following eight county addresses and State of MARTA all held earlier this year. “The Beltline continues to shape Atlanta’s future in meaningful ways,” said Michael Paris, President & CEO of the Council for Quality Growth. “We’re proud to provide a platform for its leadership team to share how this project creates economic value while building lasting connections between Atlanta’s communities.”
Anna Roach, Executive Director & CEO of the Atlanta Regional Commission, sat down with Clyde Higgs, President & CEO of Atlanta Beltline, Inc. and 2025 Chair of the Council for Quality Growth, for a fireside chat reflecting on 20 years of Beltline progress and what’s ahead.
Higgs credited the visionaries who launched the project in 2005, calling the Beltline “the most comprehensive community development project in the country—not just a one-trick pony.” He noted that the project has already delivered 76% of its affordable housing goal and is on track to exceed 7,000 units by 2030. He also highlighted City Council’s approval of the Special Service District during the pandemic, which secured $100 million in local funds and unlocked another $250 million. “Whoever writes the next book about the Atlanta Beltline has to remember the passage of the SSD,” Higgs said. “That’s how we can now say definitively we will finish the loop by 2030.”
Thank you to our attendees and sponsors for a successful State of the Beltline Address!
