All images courtesy Rogers Partners/Nelson Byrd Woltz
A brand new park is in the works for Buckhead. Spanning a total of nine acres over the GA400 freeway and through MARTA’s Buckhead station, the park is meant to become a “centralized, highly attractive, property-value-boosting green space in the heart of commercial Buckhead,” reports Curbed Atlanta.
Overview
The layout of the park is intended to create a multitude of connections along Peachtree and Lenox Road, enhancing the topography, MARTA access between the Atlanta Financial Center and Lenox Road/Buckhead Loop and the expansion of commercial and cultural opportunities. Split into three distinct zones – The Commons, The Plaza and the Gardens — each will feature a wide range of amenities including activities, events, gardens and pavilions. Pulling concepts from different outdoor and public spaces around the world, the park will feature designs like Metropol Parasol in Seville, Spain; Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Chicago, Illinois; City Garden in St. Louis, Missouri and Yuanboyuen in Xiamen, China.
Cost of production
The total cost to complete the park over GA400 is proposed between $195-245 million, and although the price for production may worry some, this project is a step towards the future of Atlanta. “[Buckhead] has one of the least amounts of park space per capita in the country,” says Chris Ahrenkiel, managing director of Tishman Speyer, a commercial real estate agency located along the GA400. According to conservative assumption of likely value creation, a range of revenue sources can sustainably fund the Park’s annual operations by 2026.
Other developments
The park is not the only new development coming to Buckhead. Four new residential apartment buildings will go up along Peachtree Road, surrounding the park’s development. The first is The Sutton, a five-story parking podium with 16 residential stories, creating 141 new units. Two nine-story buildings will enhance Camden Paces along East Andrews and add 365 units. Finally, the Apogee at Buckhead is replacing the Christian Church at Buckhead with 35 stories and 350 apartment units.