Civic

ATLANTA — The City of Atlanta has broken ground on the first phase of Westside Park at Bellwood Quarry in Atlanta’s Westside area. Expected to be the largest park in Atlanta, the first phase will include a signature gateway and trails leading to an overlook area for views of a quarry-turned-reservoir. Upon completion, the park will encompass 280 acres, nearly 100 acres larger than Piedmont Park in Atlanta’s Midtown district. The park will connect the Proctor Creek Greenway and Chattahoochee River Corridor with the Atlanta BeltLine, a loop trail that will eventually span 22 miles and connect 45 intown neighborhoods in Atlanta. Architecture firm HGOR is designing the park. The quarry-turned-reservoir will take on the role of Atlanta’s major emergency water source, increasing the city’s drinking water supply from three days to more than 30 days. The surrounding park will feature elements of green infrastructure, which should enhance water quality and ground water infiltration. HGOR is collaborating on the development with partner leaders Reeves Young and CERM. Other project team members include Portman & Associates, Long Engineering, EcoWorks, Full Circle Communication, Denyse, BioHabitats, Sherwood Design Engineers, S.L. King & Associates and Sykes Consulting. According to The Atlanta Journal Constitution, the park …

ATLANTA — The City of Atlanta and Atlanta BeltLine Inc. (ABI) have acquired 1.8 miles of former railroad corridor from freight rail operator CSX on Atlanta’s Westside to expand the city’s BeltLine urban trail. Upon full build-out in 2030, the 22-mile loop trail will connect 45 intown neighborhoods. The $6.3 million acquisition of the stretch of track formerly known as “the Kudzu Line” represents the final purchase of inactive rail corridor in the Atlanta BeltLine loop. The purchase will provide points of contact for potential spur trails that would connect the neighborhoods of Bankhead, English Avenue, Knight Park and Howell Station. In addition, the corridor will allow access to the Bankhead MARTA station, Maddox Park, the future Westside Park at Bellwood Quarry and the newly opened Proctor Creek Greenway. The funds to pay for the land came from TSPLOST, a transportation sales tax Atlanta voters approved in 2016. Under the purchase agreement, the City of Atlanta and ABI control approximately 80 percent of the corridor needed to construct the BeltLine trail and transit loop. The other 20 percent includes railroad and non-railroad properties. Over the next six months, CSX will remove the rails. ABI also recently acquired 2.5 acres at …