Atlanta Parks

[smArTaLlone]

https://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/...enox-park.html

Piedmont Park Conservancy is feeling expansion fever with ambitions stoked by other projects underway in the immediate area.

Led by CEO Doug Widener, the conservancy hopes to purchase nearly 4 acres of land at Monroe Drive and Piedmont Avenue to grow the park’s boundaries. A vision for the corner could arise in an upcoming master plan for the entire park, which will be crafted beginning next year.

The corner eyed for new greenspace is now home to a Shell gas station, restaurant and hookah bar Octopus Kitchen, pizzeria Varuni Napoli, and other businesses. An aging shopping center owned by the City of Atlanta takes up most of the site, located in Morningside/Lenox Park on the edge of Piedmont Heights.

“It’s going to be transformative: a local entry point at the corner, connecting the whole park with the BeltLine and the Botanical Garden expansion,” said Widener, who stepped into his role this fall. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to change the park and make it complete.”

[Julien]

Slight correction. The Shell Gas station is not on the land parcel but located on the Ansley Mall side.

[Username123]

Originally Posted by Julien

Slight correction. The Shell Gas station is not on the land parcel but located on the Ansley Mall side.

That’s the Exxon The Shell is next to Octopus.

[testarossa50]

Mixed feelings about that expansion tbh. The plot could be some excellent high-density mixed-use, seamlessly integrated with the park, with good Beltline access. It's not the biggest or most important plot on the new EST segment, but it's one of the most developable (no current major commercial tenants), and would be a great place for retail/restaurant next to the new Botanical Garden entrance.

[GeorgiaPeanuts]

Central Park in NYC works out okay building all the way to the street and not having residential abutting directly the park. Somebody could always build something at the old Orpheus brewery.

[testarossa50]

Originally Posted by GeorgiaPeanuts

Central Park in NYC works out okay building all the way to the street and not having residential abutting directly the park. Somebody could always build something at the old Orpheus brewery.

Yeah, but the corner of Piedmont and Monroe is hardly Columbus Circle.

Like I said, mixed feelings. It's obviously an improvement over the status quo, but something like the proposed Amsterdam Walk on a smaller scale for this plot seems better imo. And ditto for the old Orpheus Brewery.

[Sojourner_Terminus]

Originally Posted by testarossa50

Yeah, but the corner of Piedmont and Monroe is hardly Columbus Circle.

Agreed. If the surrounding area was built up, I wouldn't mind one bit. But as it is, the park needs more integration with stuff, for lack of a better word.

[smArTaLlone]

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/rmide...member_desktop

[Julien]

So the original 10th to North is BACK on now? Wasn't it reduced to 5th to cut costs? Also the 6 story building on 10th over the Connector looks kinda cool but is that a private development of apartments, meaning not really part of the public project? Also Techwood being extended looks nice.

So is this just another tease that will die off and resurrect AGAIN in 3 to 5 years?

Damn Midtown is a mess in this model and makes it hard to tell where the hell you are. At lest GA Tech is recognizable.

EDIT: If you go to the website https://connectorpark.org you get the 5th to North smaller stripped down version park.

[A-town]

I guess they figure by the time they get this completed all cars will be electric. Because who in their right mind would want to live directly above a highway.

[Julien]

Originally Posted by A-town

I guess they figure by the time they get this completed all cars will be electric. Because who in their right mind would want to live directly above a highway.

Hell by the time it is completed most of us may live on Mars and Dewberry may even be getting close to completing Campanile.

[Julien]

In the Model pics I see one of those open bid sports "junk" bidding displays in the background. So is this on public display and where is it?

[Street Advocate]

Originally Posted by A-town

I guess they figure by the time they get this completed all cars will be electric. Because who in their right mind would want to live directly above a highway.

I get it… but all of midtown overlooks the connector with nearly the same fumes for everyone on Williams St.

Remind us, how much did Portman pay for the site along the connector and building what will arguably the most expensive office and residential rents in Atlanta?

[A-town]

Originally Posted by Street Advocate

I get it… but all of midtown overlooks the connector with nearly the same fumes for everyone on Williams St.

Remind us, how much did Portman pay for the site along the connector and building what will arguably the most expensive office and residential rents in Atlanta?

Yeah but alot of those buildings on Williams St. are sitting on a parking podiums with Williams St. acting as a buffer. This is a few feet directly above the freeway. I can't imagine someone having a pleasant experience sitting on their balcony. The fumes would be overwhelming.

But overall I love the design. This will take Midtown to another level. Hope we see a groundbreaking soon.

[Labtec]

What about having a nice stream going down the connector park like Cheonggyecheon stream in Seoul, which replaced a highway?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoDmSgmo3wc

[BKeeper3]

Originally Posted by Labtec

What about having a nice stream going down the connector park like Cheonggyecheon stream in Seoul, which replaced a highway?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoDmSgmo3wc

I think capping a highway vs. replacing a highway would make it unfeasible, but oh wouldn't something like that be amazing?

[cabasse]

Originally Posted by A-town

Yeah but alot of those buildings on Williams St. are sitting on a parking podiums with Williams St. acting as a buffer. This is a few feet directly above the freeway. I can't imagine someone having a pleasant experience sitting on their balcony. The fumes would be overwhelming.

But overall I love the design. This will take Midtown to another level. Hope we see a groundbreaking soon.

it's really not that much better until you're at least a few blocks away from the connector, and even when EVs become the norm, there will still be the problem of particulate emissions (tires/brake wear) which are arguably much worse for your health than what comes out of the tailpipe.

i wish there were more people willing to reject the presence of that smog and particulate emissions-spewing freeway running right through the heart of our city. i frequently see time lapse drone videos of our skyline on instagram, showing the headlights/taillights of thousands of cars driving along and people love to point it out that "that's our river" - but it's really not, it's a traffic sewer.

cheonggyecheon - yes, please. (that would be especially neat as a secondary parallel with korea, being an american city with one of the highest korean populations) extra points if someone could figure out how to use it to filter the air coming up from the freeway beneath. (algae perhaps?)

[testarossa50]

Tires are a bigger problem with EVs than ICEs due to the weight. But that might be a short lived problem if battery energy density improves.

[Pemgin]

Went to Piedmont Park this weekend for the first time in a long time. Looked great. No homeless bums anywhere, people and families playing, felt safe...very refreshing that a major US city is able to keep a park looking nice. The rest of the country needs to take a page from whatever Atlanta's playbook is.

[Julien]

Federal Reserve rear pocket park. Anyone know what the "disco" balls represent?