Former Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed announced a $100 million expansion of Piedmont Park during the last press conference of his eight-year term. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the city purchased 5 acres of land at Piedmont Avenue and Monroe Drive for $20 million, and Home Depot Chief Financial Officer Carol B. Tome will chair a committee that seeks to raise the additional $80 million necessary to purchase the other parcels of land.

In other Atlanta real estate news:

• An hour before the press conference, the mayor’s office also announced the city identified the $26.5 million in funds to construct the first phase of the 280-acre Westside Park at Bellwood Quarry. The city of Atlanta provided renderings of what will soon be Atlanta’s biggest green space, with the first phase expected to be ready by 2019.
• Acclaimed architect John C. Portman Jr. passed away at the age of 93. Portman is responsible for the Peachtree Center, the AmericasMart in downtown Atlanta and the distinctive Westin Peachtree Plaza and Hyatt Regency Atlanta hotels, according to Bisnow Atlanta. The Atlantic described his style as having “clean lines and neo-futuristic forms” that helped make Atlanta the perfect backdrop for many of the films that have been shot in the city.
• Curbed Atlanta has a first look at a new townhome development called The Chelsea Westside. Located along Ellsworth Industrial Boulevard, the space will eventually have 92 residences, with completion estimated for 2020. Currently, construction has just finished Phase II, and almost 50 percent is sold between the two phases.