Buckhead's Charlie Loudermilk Park Ready For $2.5M Makeover

Patch Staff Report 

The Buckhead Community Improvement District (CID), in partnership with Livable Buckhead and the City of Atlanta, will soon begin a $2.5 million redesign of Charlie Loudermilk Park, which is located on a 35,000 square-foot parcel positioned between Peachtree Road, Roswell Road and Sardis Way, in the heart of Buckhead Village. 

According to a press release, the project is scheduled to be completed by July 1, 2014. See renderings attached with this article as to what the park will look like when the makeover is completed.

Designed by HGOR, a Buckhead planning and architecture firm, the new city park is designed to complement the Buckhead CID's Village Streetscape project, a program that exists to improve and enhance the pedestrian experience in the Village by implementing highly-designed, public environments while revitalizing one of Buckhead's most popular destinations. 

The new Charlie Loudermilk Park will be an inviting gathering place where the existing park does not attract users.

The project kicked off recently with banners displayed around the edges of the park that illustrate what the future park will look like, including a new clock tower, covered seating and a statue of Charlie Loudermilk, which will be relocated to the park from the Aaron Rents Offices on N. Fulton Street.

Some of the existing trees in the park will be marked for removal in order to plant a new perimeter of oak trees that will grow to provide adequate shade for the park. The low-branched Littleleaf Linden trees currently lining the park do not thrive in the Atlanta climate, nor provide the high canopy effect necessary for shade. A grassy lawn panel will be raised 15 inches above Roswell Road, making it completely accessible from Peachtree, Roswell and Sardis roads.

"We knew that if we could redesign Charlie Loudermilk Park into a vital place for the community, it would really add quality to urban life in the Village," Bob Hughes, principal at HGOR, said in the release.  

Added Buckhead CID Executive Director Jim Durrett: "Our goal is for Charlie Loudermilk Park to be a true destination in the Village where people will visit on a daily basis. Well-designed green spaces and walkable areas are proven to increase the desirability of urban living, and as a result play a huge part in increasing real-estate property values. We are pleased to be a part of this project that will truly create a new legacy for Buckhead."