CIM Group is signaling its first baby steps toward its grand vision of transforming the Gulch in Downtown Atlanta into the sprawling mini-city called Centennial Yards.

The Los Angeles-based developer filed permits with the city of Atlanta to begin groundwork on Centennial Yards in preparation for the future construction of the more than 9M SF of commercial space. CIM plans to relocate an existing sewer, do some minor demolition and erect erosion control measures, according to the application.

This is the latest sign of movement on the project that has largely remained dormant since it purchased the property from Norfolk Southern and the city in 2018. In October, CIM hired Nick Garzia, the former director of retail leasing for Hines, who was pivotal in repositioning Atlantic Station's 586K SF of retail.

CIM obtained a $1.9B incentive package in 2018 — the largest such package in city history — that allows the developer to use sales taxes to pay back more than $1B in bonds and use up to $40M in taxes collected in the Westside Tax Allocation District and other property taxes for its financing. A collection of neighborhood activists known as Red Light The Gulch continue to fight the Westside TAD funding in courts, an issue not likely to be addressed again until next year.

CIM officials previously told Bisnow that they expect to reveal an updated master plan for the project before the end of the year.