Politics & Government

Buckhead Collection Green Space Plan in High Gear

Livable Buckhead starts capital campaign for Ga. 400 trail

Buckhead City Councilman Howard Shook has seen many committees make many plans and proposals that end up sitting on the shelf.

The Buckhead Collection green-space intiative for Buckhead appears to be different. Already the effort to add more green space, plazas and trails to Buckhead's woefully underserved central district is progressing toward realization.

On Friday, a volunteer steering committee holds its last meeting after months of work assessing needs and finding places where parks could be placed and walking areas connected. Under the direction of Livable Buckhead Executive Director Denise Starling and AECOM landscape architect Carlos F. Perez, the committee came up with an imaginative and doable plan with the potential to enhance Buckhead's community life for the long term, with projects that can be carried out in the near future.

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"It's been the greatest thing that's happened in Buckhead in a long, long time," Shook said Wednesday night as the Buckhead Collection plan received its final public hearing at the "This got us talking to each other; it's a real game-changer. We're going to get a lot of this done."

Starling said she wants to keep the steering committee's energy and commitment going by creating a permanent Buckhead Parks Council. Along with parks, trails and plazas, the plan calls for the creation of dog parks and incorporation of artistic, historic and cultural sites.

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Shook, who represents District 7, got the initiative started after a report that found that booming, boisterous Buckhead was a bust when it came to parkland and public gathering spots. District 7 was found to have the smallest amount of green space in Atlanta, itself low ranked in comparison with other cities.

The Buckhead Community Improvement District spearheaded the initiative, handing the ball to Starling, who heads the CID's BATMA transit operation, from which Livable Buckhead sprang for a broader sustainability mission and to increase fund-raising flexibility.

Starling and longtime Buckhead community activist Sally Silver, chairperson of NBU-B and a Livable Buckhead board member, echoed Shook's remarks about the cooperative spirit shown in developing the Buckhead Collection plan. Developers and neighborhood groups, which have clashed in the past, joined forces in the endeavor.

"It has not been an uphill conversation from the development perspective," Starling said. ""People get it, that green space enhances your property value."

Now, Livable Buckhead is launching a capital campaign for the initiative, with the first focus the five-mile Ga. 400 trail, which will begin at Loridans Drive near the Ga. 400 toll booth and go through the heart of Buckhead, eventually linking to the Atlanta Beltline. The five-section trail, already receiving funding from the CID, the Buckhead Coaltion, and the Buckhead Business Association's Foundation, will cost $8.5 million, Perez said.

The PATH Foundation has included the trail in its capital plan, and the Ga. DOT, State Road and Toll Authority and the Norfolk Southern Railroad are also cooperating, Starling said. 

When an audience member asked if OliverMcMillan, developer of Buckhead Atlanta, formerly the Streets of Buckhead, is being consulted in green space development, Silver said, "Yes, we're working with them." Silver also said she expects the effort to receive City Council approval for inclusion in the city's Community Development plan.

AECOM Principal David Barth said that without the green space initiative, Buckhead was "missing a key element of its infrastructure." The Buckhead Coaltion will "reposition it for the next 50 to 100 years," he said.

For more information, see this link to Livable Buckhead's website. Also see this link to the Buckhead CID website's plans section.


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