Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and other City officials Thursday broke ground on Phase One of Westside Park at Bellwood Quarry, set to become Atlanta’s biggest green space.
Slated to open in 2019, Westside Park’s first phase will include a “signature” gateway, pictured below.
This phase will also include trails leading to the grand overlook area for views of the quarry-turned-reservoir.
Upon completion, the park will encompass a total of 280 acres, nearly one hundred acres larger than Piedmont Park and will connect Proctor Creek Greenway and Chattahoochee River Corridor with the Atlanta Beltline.
At the center of the design for this project is landscape architecture and planning firm HGOR.
For Phase One, the City of Atlanta tasked the design team, led by Lauren Standish, with developing the vision and design.
“If you look at the topography of the park, just the existing environmental factors, it’s a fascinating place,” Standish, a principal at HGOR, said in a prepared statement Thursday.
“The juxtaposition of the quarry lake with the open lawn, preservation of trees and integration of environmental-based design is really exciting. We hope this park will tell a story of community and place and become a destination that will help shape and define the city of Atlanta for generations to come.”
Components geared towards sustainability could include educational facilities and venues for events, weddings, and festivals.
These efforts will be integrated by capitalizing on the park’s three natural high points for venue spots that overlook dramatic views of the city.
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 thirty-plus days.
Supporting the importance of water, the surrounding park will feature elements of green infrastructure, enhancing water quality and groundwater infiltration.
HGOR is collaborating on the development of these elements with Long Engineering
Do they plan a public parking structure like they have for Piedmont and the botanical gardens? While i recognize it will have the Bankhead Marta station as well as multiple bike paths to the park, there are others who are coming from the west side and north that won’t have access to those elements to bring them to the area.