New Day Palisades opens after first phase of Paces Mill revitalization

“I think it looks beautiful,” Barton said. “The parking lot before was old and it had a lot of potholes. It needed repaving.”

A short distance from the riverside, a group of business leaders, elected officials and park enthusiasts celebrated the official opening of the first phase of New Day Palisades, as the project is known.

The $6.3 million first phase was paid for by $4.3 million from the Cumberland Community Improvement District and $2 million in federal appropriations, said Kim Menefee, executive director of the Cumberland CID and the nonprofit One Cumberland.

The first phase included rebuilt boardwalks; a revamped parking lot with 235 spaces; a bus-drop loop for large groups and students visiting the park; space for a native meadow; and bioswales and precision grading that capture and filter stormwater before it reaches the river.

Menefee said funds are still being raised for the project’s $9.5 million second phase, to include a new visitor information center with enhanced restrooms and changing facilities, an open-air pavilion and expanded river entry points, among other elements.

The goal is to start construction for phase two next year and finish by spring 2027.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath, who spoke at Saturday’s event, referenced President Jimmy Carter’s signing of legislation in 1978 to establish the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, a 7,000-acre unit of the National Park Service.

“We know that Georgia misses Jimmy Carter now more than ever,” McBath said. “And that’s the reason why this is so wonderful for us to be here today and to continue to reflect upon everything that he meant to the state of Georgia.”

She added: “We have an obligation to be good stewards of the precious natural resources that make our region such an attractive place to live and work and raise a family.”

Ann Honious, superintendent of the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, said the new meadow has been seeded with native plants that will support birds and pollinators and have deep root systems to manage rainwater runoff.

Not everyone loves all of the changes at Paces Mill, however.

Joseph Petitt, who used to live in a nearby apartment complex, attended Saturday’s ceremony holding a sign that read, “Travesty!” He said the new parking lot replaced a field where he used to play Frisbee and lie down and read.

He called the project “the desecration of the field.”

Menefee said the new and redesigned parking lot “prioritizes pedestrian safety as well as vehicular circulation.”

Credit: Reed Williams

Credit: Reed Williams

Shawnia Da Cruz, 47, a resident of Vinings who has been regularly visiting Paces Mill for a decade, likes the changes made in phase one. She was out there taking a walk Saturday.

“I like the walk. It’s nice and flat, and it’s shaded, so you don’t get too much sun exposure,” she said. “It’s nature, you’re near the water.”

Doug Blews and his husband, Edward Gaulrapp, also were out for a walk at the park they’ve been visiting for the past 25 years. They enjoy seeing turtles, swallows, ducks, herons and other wildlife. They’ve also been tubing on the river a couple times.

Credit: Reed Williams

Credit: Reed Williams

Blews said he was disappointed to see that some old trees were cut down for the parking upgrades. But that didn’t deter them from enjoying their beloved park Saturday.

“Bottom line, it’s a fantastic spot,” Blews said of Paces Mill. “It’s just really beautiful.”