With a growing student body and in anticipation of the upcoming 2026 World Cup visit, Georgia State University has announced an ambitious transformation of its flagship downtown Atlanta campus putting into action a recent plan by Cooper Robertson that includes nine projects which includes expanding an existing campus greenway with an elevated plaza, enhanced walkways, and newly pedestrianized streets.

Thanks to an $80 million gift from the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation, Georgia State University will soon begin what is perhaps its largest transformation project ever. The foundation’s contribution will help fund $107 million in upgrades across Georgia State’s downtown Atlanta footprint, a slate of nine projects set to reinvigorate and reimagine the campus experience.

The gift is the largest in Georgia State’s 111-year history, and the largest ever by the foundation to a University System of Georgia (USG) institution.

Building directly on the recommendations from Cooper Robertson’s planning, the new work will center on improvements in and around Hurt Park and Woodruff Park, two of the city’s premier downtown green spaces. Key moves include:

• Expanding an existing campus greenway with an elevated plaza, enhanced walkways and newly pedestrianized streets.
• Creating direct connections to Hurt Park by removing an existing classroom and student service building, Sparks Hall.
• Renovating and expanding the university’s Arts and Humanities building near Hurt Park to more closely connect to the new outdoor hub.
• Repositioning the university’s 18-story 100 Edgewood tower into a cornerstone of the campus with new dining areas, classroom space, and outdoor gathering areas.
• Moving a streetcar platform to better align with the Woodruff Park entrance, and closing adjacent streets to all vehicles except the streetcar.

“Our goal with the plan was to create connective tissues that better tie the central campus to its surroundings, addressing the dynamic town-gown relationships inherent in any urban institution,” says Cooper Robertson partner Mike Aziz. “We believe these new efforts will help make Georgia State University into a whole that’s greater than the sum of its parts, and dramatically improve the downtown experience for everyone.”