The Riverside Forum

Does anyone know where this is? Sounds nice!


The City of Atlanta today announced it has completed the purchase of the Bellwood Quarry property in northwest Atlanta from Vulcan Materials Company and Fulton County. This property is planned for transformation into the most significant new park and greenspace to be developed along Atlanta’s Beltline. It also will be the site of the City’s 1.9-billion-gallon Westside drinking water reservoir.

A new park, which will be approximately 300 acres and include a 50-acre drinking water reservoir surrounded by multi-use trails, recreation areas and greenspace, will be created at the existing Bellwood Quarry site. Upon completion, the planned Westside park will be the largest park in the City of Atlanta (compared with Piedmont Park’s 185 acres and Grant Park’s 131 acres).

The City closed on the sale Friday, June 30, 2006, purchasing Vulcan’s interest in its long-term lease for $25 million and Fulton County’s underlying fee interest for $15.2 million. The quarry occupies approximately 137 acres at 900 Lois Street N.W., and has been in operation for more than 100 years, providing granite for roads, buildings and infrastructure in metro Atlanta.

Under terms of newly completed agreements involving the City, the County and Vulcan, the quarry will wind down operations over the next two years. Vulcan has operated at the site under a lease arrangement since 1998.

“The development of the Westside park is the most exciting news about new greenspace to occur in metro Atlanta in years,” said Mayor Shirley Franklin. “This is another clear sign of momentum for the overall BeltLine initiative, which continues to make major strides toward early implementation. We appreciate the willingness of Fulton County and Vulcan Materials to work collaboratively to reach this significant set of agreements.”

Under the BeltLine Redevelopment Plan, the Westside park would connect to an expanded Maddox Park, eventually creating a contiguous greenspace through Northwest Atlanta. A portion of the converted quarry site will provide recreational facilities for Atlanta and Fulton County residents and visitors and connect with the BeltLine. The property will also serve as an important part of the City’s water supply system for residents of the City and Fulton County.

“This reservoir will be critically important to our long-term master plan for overall water supply management in the future,” said Rob Hunter, Commissioner of the Department of Watershed Management. “We are pleased to now be able to move forward with planning its development as an integral part of our water supply system.”

Danny Shepherd, president of Vulcan's Southeast Division said, "All of us at Vulcan are very gratified to see this wonderful project for the BeltLine moving forward. We are looking forward to Bellwood Quarry's newest use and believe the recreational opportunities and reservoir will be a tremendous boon for the people of Atlanta."

After the Atlanta City Council approved the purchase in January 2006, the authority to complete negotiations and close on the quarry property was provided by Fulton County in April 2006. Linda DiSantis, the Atlanta City Attorney, praised the work of Vulcan’s and Fulton County’s attorneys, and the work of Hollowell, Foster & Gepp, the City’s outside attorneys on the transaction. “This was a complex transaction that required a lot of collaboration among the parties,” she said. “The legal teams from all sides worked diligently to ensure a successful closing today.”

“This is another major milestone toward the BeltLine’s future success," said Ray Weeks, chairman of the BeltLine Partnership, the public-private organization established by Mayor Franklin to foster BeltLine advocacy and coordinate private-sector engagement. "Everyone’s backing of this effort – including Vulcan’s business leadership and all the people who actively voiced their support for this park site – is greatly appreciated. The acquisition of the quarry is a symbol of how committed people, working together, will help achieve the 25-year vision for the BeltLine.”

To be implemented by the Atlanta Development Authority, the BeltLine is one of the most comprehensive economic development efforts undertaken in the City’s history. The initiative, which involves 22 miles of legacy railroad right-of-way that passes through 45 intown Atlanta neighborhoods, seeks to transform transit, grow greenspace with parks and trails, and ensure livable communities and an attractive business climate in the City over the next quarter century. Economic development, affordable workforce housing, pedestrian mobility, historic preservation, environmental remediation and public art are among the BeltLine’s many visionary components.

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This park is along the route to the Westside district (think 5 Seasons, Hop City, Octane, West Egg, Gear Revival). Closer to the train depot area though and this will be a great asset for our neighborhood. I am sure that Lee Coker or Heather Coker could elaborate considering their involvement with the Beltline.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source= ... 8&t=h&z=16

FJ

If you go down Perry Blvd, it is on the right before the corner where Marietta Blvd turns into W. Marietta Blvd. There is a street, but it is closed off. Photos look awesome, don't they? It kinda runs behind Fulton County Animal Control.

Thanks for the info!

Thanks for the info!

By the way, here's more info on the park from a recent feature on WSB:
http://www.wsbtv.com/news/24170535/detail.html

If this park is done in the next 9 years, that will be good enough for me. I think it's more likely that this is master plan material, and that we are looking about 20 to 25 years out. I have nothing to back that up, just my thoughts. The beltline has gone nowhere in the last 5 years. Very stagnant.

Thanks for the WSB link. Good to see the quarry so close up. My usual view is from Google maps.

I haven't been on the message board in a while, but thought I could add some insight to this post even though I'm behind the times.

The Quarry Park is Westside Reservoir and Park. It is less than 3.5 miles from the Bolton/Hollywood split off of West Martietta Road/Perry Blvd. The City of Atlanta bought the property in 2006 to use the quarry itself as a reservoir to store future drinking water and the land around it as park space. Today the city holds 150 acres at the site, but the total park space is expected to top out between 300-320 acres making this site the largest park in the City of Atlanta, nearly double the acreage of Piedmont Park. Property acqusition is currently underway.

The reservoir part of the site is a Watershed Management project currently moving through preliminary engineering and design. Construction is still a few years off due to the infrastructure needed to support it (pipe and pumps), but it is expected to be in construction and possibly delivered within 5-7 years. Atlanta BeltLine, Inc. is moving the park side of the project along and has completed a master plan for the park space. Due to its size, the park around the reservoir will likely be delievered as series of phases over the next 5-10-15 years depending on the work needed for the reservoir and on funding availability. The site is, however, a top priority for Watershed Management and Atlanta BeltLine, Inc.

The Atlanta BeltLine Partnership offers a free tour of the Atlanta BeltLine project every Friday and Saturday morning. The tour begins and ends at the Inman Park MARTA station and includes a stop at the Bellwood Quarry site. It is our most popular program and is now booked through the end of the year; however, if you are interested in taking the tour you can contact me offline and I will see what I can do to get you a seat. Also, if we had a number of Riversiders interested in a tour of the quarry site itself, I may be able to make arrangements for such a tour sometime. My contact details are below.

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE SITE IS NOT OPEN TO THE PUBLIC AT THIS TIME. THE ONLY PUBLIC ACCESS TO THE SITE IS THROUGH THE ATLANTA BELTLINE TOUR OR WITH A SPECIAL CITY ESCORT. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO VISIT THE SITE ON YOUR OWN AS THERE ARE SIGNIFICANT SAFTEY HAZARDS AND A REGULAR SECURITY PATROL. IF YOU ARE NOT SIGNIFICANTLY INJURED BY A ROCKFALL YOU WILL BE PICKED UP FOR TRESPASSING.

As for the Atlanta BeltLine project as a whole, there is quite a lot of activity on the ground these days. Three parks are in contstruction today; two will be complete at the end of 2010 while the third will see phase I construction wrap up this year and phase II (including Atlanta's first public skateboard park) will be completed in 2011. There are 3.5 miles of trail on the ground, including the trail through Tanyard Creek Park, and another 2.5 mile segement will break ground this fall beginning at Piedmont Park (Monroe/10th Street) and ending at Dekalb Avenue. In addition, you can walk on 7 miles of temporary trails on the eastside and westside within the corridor itself. And transit planning and development continues through land aquisition, corridor design and with the expected completion of a phase I Environmental Impact Statement later this year.

Again, the tour is a great way to see the Atlanta BeltLine on the ground and get updates, but I am also happy to provide any information or answer any questions directly.

--Heather

Heather Coker, wife to Lee, but also:
Atlanta BeltLine Tour Coordinator, Atlanta BeltLine Partnership
Special Projects Coordinator, Atlanta BeltLine, Inc.

heather.husseycoker@gmail.com
hhusseycoker@beltline.org

My band played at Music on the BeltLine two months ago and the interest and attendance was impressive. Trust me, the BeltLine is far from stagnant and the open pedestrian corridors with art installations are very inspiring to check out.

It's a huge endeavor but it is going to happen!!

Lindsay