After 20 years, the Atlanta Beltline has nailed down the final land rights it needs to complete the entire 22-mile mainline trail encircling the city. 

The nonprofit has secured the last parts of the 4.3-mile Northwest Trail, which will connect the Westside and Northeast trails. 

“This is a defining milestone for the Atlanta Beltline and for the future of Atlanta,” Atlanta Beltline Inc. President and CEO Clyde Higgs said. “For more than 20 years, our team has worked property by property, neighborhood by neighborhood, to assemble the land and property rights needed to make a 22-mile trail around Atlanta possible. Today, that work is complete.  

“We have secured the real estate foundation for the entire mainline trail, bringing us one major step closer to delivering the full Beltline loop by 2030. What began as a vision has become one of the most ambitious urban transformation projects in the country, and this milestone gives us the foundation to finish what we started.” 

This final link in the chain includes three parcels at 2110 Peachtree Road in Buckhead and adjacent property near Bennett Street, creating a 3.2-acre path for the trail, as well as affordable housing and commercial space — key components of the overall endeavor.  

Many Northwest Trail segments are complete or already under development. The Beltline celebrated the opening of a 16.7-mile stretch of trail in June, its longest uninterrupted stretch. Recently, teams broke ground on Northwest Trail Segment – 3B, which will include a pedestrian bridge over Northside Drive.   

The path to this milestone has been long and winding. Over the last two decades, the Beltline has had almost 200 closings representing over $200 million in property purchases across more than 270 acres. Individual acquisitions have ranged from a 15-square-foot parcel to a 65-acre tract. Sellers have ranged from homeowners, apartment complexes and religious organizations to Fortune 500 corporations, railroads and utilities. 

While most of the Beltline follows former freight rail corridors, the Northwest Trail is in a league of its own in terms of complexity. Due to the lack of existing railbed, the Beltline had to create a new alignment for this segment, passing through developed neighborhoods and commercial districts. Determining the route followed numerous community meetings and collaboration with the Path Foundation, which has created over 342 miles of trails around Georgia since 1991. 

“This was one of the most complex land-assembly efforts in the Beltline’s history because we weren’t simply following an existing rail corridor,” said Dave Pierce, vice president of real estate and asset management at Atlanta Beltline Inc. “In the Northwest, we had to establish a new route through established neighborhoods and business districts, working with individual property owners, businesses and institutions to assemble the rights needed for the trail. Completing that work across the entire 22-mile corridor is the result of more than two decades of persistence, negotiation and collaboration.” 

While the Atlanta Beltline finally has the land rights necessary to complete its mainline trail, that’s not the end of the story. Beltline design and real estate teams are on the lookout for additional strategic property acquisitions that enhance what’s already been accomplished.