Atlanta City Council Approves $1.17M Land Purchase for New Buckhead Park
After the purchase of the land, the city will demolish a residential structure on the property.
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The Atlanta City Council approved legislation on Monday to allow the city to purchase approximately 2.54 acres of land to create a new public park on Lenox Road in Buckhead.
National nonprofit organization, The Conservation Fund, originally purchased the 2.54 acres to create the new park at 3162 Lenox Road. However, the organization has agreed to sell the land to the city for an amount not to exceed fair market value. The city’s purchase price, closing costs, environmental due diligence costs and site cleanup costs are estimated to be $1.17 million.
Funding for the property will come from the city’s Park Impact Fee North Fund. Additional infrastructure will be funded by Park Impact fees, Public Safety Impact and Transportation Impact fees.
"Initial development will be limited to demolition of an existing residential structure, removal of debris and measures necessary to make the site safe and secure," according to a release from the City of Atlanta.
The Reed Administration and the City of Atlanta’s Office of Parks applauded the Atlanta City Council for the decision.
“Purchasing the property on Lenox Road is consistent with the City’s goals of greenspace acquisition, preservation and park expansion,” said Commissioner George Dusenbury. “This acquisition also will move Council District 7, the district with the lowest inventory of parkland, one step closer to goals provided in the district’s new greenspace plan. Mayor Reed’s administration, the Office of Parks and the Atlanta City Council is committed to working with the community to collaborate on the park’s design.”
In a release, the City of Atlanta described the property:
The property, which is located within walking distance of thousands of residences in the Pine Hills neighborhood and the densely populated Lenox Road corridor, is treed with mature stands of bamboo and has a creek running through it. The park will eventually undergo a master planning or visioning process, including collaboration with the community in order to map out future uses and stewardship.
“I’d like to thank Mayor Reed and Parks Commissioner Dusenbury for this $1.17 million-dollar investment,” stated Atlanta City Councilmember Howard Shook, who sponsored the legislation, in a news release. “This is a huge step forward in our effort to have everyone in Buckhead live or work within a 10-minute walk to a park.”
Knott Telling
5:47 pm on Sunday, February 24, 2013
With the improvements taking place for access between I85 and SR400, does this sale bring us any closer to the opening up of the Lenox Road bottleneck, taking advantage of the setbacks for road widening that have been provided by all developments along that corridor for the last 20+ years? Only 2-3 inhabited single-family residences remain along that stretch. It's time for the long-anticipated improvements to Lenox Rd. to take place, as just one piece of what needs to be a broader plan to improved traffic flow throughout the area. Improved alternatives for access in and out of Buckhead are needed to help relieve the extreme traffic gridlock that plagues Peachtree and Piedmont for many blocks extending from where they intersect. According to Sam Massell, there are 3500 apartments in development in Buckhead, including 3 new highrise apartment buildings between Terminus and Tower Place. During some rush hours it can already take 30 minutes or more for office-workers to exit the parking lots in those areas. Travelling beyond the edge of Buckhead then can require another similar block of time. The aesthetic improvements made to Peachtree in the last few years have either had no impact, or have already been offset by increased volume. Continued growth in the area is unsustainable, and downward pressure on property values is the unavoidable result.
rr
9:09 am on Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Isn't Shady Valley Park just around the corner?