Tower Place Park to Remain Greenspace Under Arrangement

Regent Partners has donated a conservation easement for Tower Place Park to Livable Buckhead, ensuring that the park will remain "greenspace in perpetuity," according to an announcement.

Livable Buckhead received the easement after its recent designation as a certified land trust, the only one in Buckhead, "paving the way for similar conservation easement donations in the future," Livable Buckhead said.

Operating expenses for the 0.85-acre park in the Tower Place development are supported through agreements with surrounding property owners, ensuring that Livable Buckhead is not taking on any financial liability associated with the park, the announcment said.

Regent Partners will be able to take a tax deduction in exchange for donating the easement and forgoing future development allowed on the site, Livable Buckhead's announcement said.

Jim Feldman, principal-development services with Regent Partners, said the  arrangement was “an example of two converging interests — the need for tax deductions and the need for greenspace in the community. It just made sense.”

Tower Place, in the heart of Buckhead, includes a 24-story tower with a 350- room hotel and 124,500 square feet of residential plus an eight-level 515-space parking deck.

“This donation helps our bottom line, but more importantly it was the right thing to do,” said David Allman, owner and chairman of Regent Partners. “Livable Buckhead is doing some tremendous work to bring more parks to this community and we wanted to support that in a tangible way." Allman is chairman of the Buckhead Community Improvement District board. Livable Buckhead is associated with the CID.

The land trust designation will enable Livable Buckhead to receive similar donations for the development of the , a plan for a network of parks, trails and greenspace created by District 7 Councilman Howard Shook, the CID and Neighborhood Planning Unit B. The Buckhead Collection is to add 106 acres of plazas, parks, dog runs, trails and greenways and street and sidewalk improvements to District 7, found to have the least amount of greenspace in the city. The first part of the plan is the Ga. 400 trail

Buckhead Council of Neigbhorhoods Secretary Gordon Certain at Thusday night's BCN meeting announced Livable Buckhead's land-trust status, saying that it will civic groups to control parks on land donated to Livable Buckhead. Certain's North Buckhead Civic Association is planning several parks, including one on Mountain Way beneath the Ga. 400 overpass.

Gertain said parks on Livable Buckhead parks would be private and outside of the city of Atlanta park system, allowing them to have different rules. So, a park wouldn't have to remain open until 11 p.m., as designated by the city, which could make them more compatible with residential areas.