The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Museum of future may one day rise downtown
Chance of funding $100M concept slim based on city’s past.
A nonprofit group has a futuristic vision for a firstof-its-kind museum in the heart of Atlanta.
The team behind a proposed $100 million museum focused on innovation and ingenuity called “FutureVerse” has scouted sites near downtown’s mix of entertainment attractions. The group has yet to raise the needed funds, and no site has been selected, but boosters say it would feature immersive digital experiences on topics including health care, transportation sustainability and entertainment.
“With the great things that Georgia stands for and with our wonderful universities, it would be great to have a national asset, FutureVerse, based here in Atlanta,” lead project booster David Wynett said.
Leaders at Emory Healthcare, Morehouse School of Medicine, Georgia State University, Georgia Tech and the University of Georgia are serving in advisory roles for the initiative. Wynett, an Atlanta native and innovation consultant who has worked for Delta Air Lines and other Fortune 500 companies, said the effort has raised $250,000. He aims to eclipse $1 million in funding before trying to finalize a project site.
FutureVerse’s plans were first reported by the Atlanta Business Chronicle.
Museums are often difficult to finance and build. Atlanta has tried for years to attract a Grammy museum, and a proposal years ago for a national health and medical science museum downtown hasn’t panned out.
Wynett said his team commissioned a feasibility study from Cincinnati-based International Theme Park Services, which estimated FutureVerse would attract 1.2 million annual visitors. That’s roughly in line with the number of people who visit World of Coca-Cola each year.
Wynett said consultants evaluated three downtown locations: Centennial Yards, the former World of CocaCola site at 55 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive SW and a site near Georgia World Congress Center.
Wynett said his preferred location is Centennial Yards, the $5 billion redevelopment of downtown parking lots and rail lines known as The Gulch. Centennial Yards leadership confirmed to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that it has met once with the FutureVerse team.
“We know that we need to obviously raise the capital that’s required to kind of get us there,” Wynett said.
Cushman & Wakefield was tapped to help with FutureVerse’s real estate needs, and Atlanta-based Cooper Carry is handling the project’s design. Wynett said his team is targeting 2028 to open.