Atlanta wants to build first park with direct access to Chattahoochee River
The city of Atlanta wants to develop its first-ever park with direct public access to the Chattahoochee River, the mayor’s office announced last week.
Atlanta’s Department of Parks and Recreation recently acquired approximately nine acres of land along Lower Paul Avenue, according to Mayor Andre Dickens. Made up of 17 greenspace properties, Lower Paul Park will become the newest public space within the Northwest Atlanta Riverside neighborhood, said the mayor’s office.
“Acquiring this land allows the city to provide our residents with public access to the Chattahoochee River and offer needed parkland to the Riverside community — all while preserving beautiful greenspace for future generations,” Dickens said in a statement.
The park is anticipated to include a Chattahoochee River Trail and a connection to the Whetstone Creek PATH multi-use Trail, said the mayor’s office. Additional details on the project are available on the Lower Paul Park plan website.
Atlanta City Council authorized the land purchase last year. Additional funding was provided through grants received by the local nonprofit Park Pride and the national nonprofit Conservation Fund, according to the mayor’s office. Georgia Power and Riverwalk Atlanta also donated properties toward the project, said the mayor’s office.
The city’s purchase contributes to the Trust for Public Land’s Chattahoochee Riverlands vision — a linear, 53-mile river corridor network of Greenways, Blueways and parks to reunite the Chattahoochee River with metro Atlanta, the mayor’s office said.
The land purchase comes a month after the Conservation Fund and Park Pride were named as members of the mayor’s new Greenspace Advisory Council. Stacy Funderburke, the Conservation Fund’s regional counsel and Georgia and Alabama associate state director, lauded the organization’s partnership with Atlanta.
“This five-year long property assemblage will now result in a vibrant new greenspace for the Riverside neighborhood and greatly increase access and recreational connectivity to the Chattahoochee River,” said Funderburke.
About the Author
Wilborn P. Nobles III covers Atlanta City Hall for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He began covering DeKalb County Schools for The AJC in November 2020. He previously covered Baltimore County for The Baltimore Sun and education for the Times-Picayune in New Orleans. He interned at the Washington Post. He graduated from Louisiana State University.
