NorthParkCache Traditional Cache
JBzHOW: The site of a new Parking deck for the ABG.
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Check out the ol' backside of Piedmont Park...someday soon to be the shiny new face.
Did you know that Piedmont Park has never been finished?
Of its 185 total acres only about 130 are open and accessible to the public today. Approximately 30 acres are occupied by the Atlanta Botanical Garden and another 25 or so remain undeveloped and largely inaccessible. Additionally, nearly 25 acres of adjacent land referred to as the West Property and Halpern Property, were committed by the City of Atlanta in the mid-1990’s to become park land.
All in all, there are about 50 acres available for reclamation as park land, an unprecedented opportunity for Atlanta!
In recent years, Piedmont Park Conservancy has been hard at work raising more than $22 million to restore the used areas of the park, including Oak Hill, the Meadow, Lake Clara Meer and the Active Oval. These multi-million dollar restoration projects, along with the Conservancy’s daily maintenance care, have made Piedmont Park cleaner, greener and more beautiful than ever before. In fall 2003, with much of the existing park restored, the Conservancy turned its attention to the opportunity to reclaim park land and increase the size of Piedmont Park by more than 40%.
Despite the current degradation, one can see that the land holds great promise, with portions containing unique topography not found in other areas of Piedmont Park, including granite outcroppings and a natural creek.
Over the last year, the Citizen Advisory Committee, comprised of representatives from the park’s various constituencies, has been studying the many issues and options related to restoring 50 acres of land lying fallow in and adjacent to Piedmont Park.
The committee issued its recommendations to Piedmont Park Conservancy in November 2004, with the majority of representatives favoring version A1, a 53-acre expansion plan that includes a shared parking facility with the Atlanta Botanical Garden (ABG), to version B1, a 50-acre plan that retains current asphalt parking lots. In exchange for the one acre hillside for the parking facility, ABG will return 3.3 acres of the Storza Woods back to public park land, offering park-goers a unique forested experience and also enabling new park entrances at Piedmont Avenue at Westminster Drive.
The plan calls for 53 new acres of open green space, bicycle and walking trails, formal and community gardens, an interactive water feature, children’s playgrounds, a skate park, athletic fields and woodlands.
Hopefully this geocache won't last long and we'll have a brand new expansion to our beautiful park! Until then look for the ol' JBz cammo ammo can at the base of a tall widowmaker.
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