Atherton Square is a beautiful spot, except for that one ugly transformer pit in the middle.
City Manager Bill Bruton told the Marietta Daily Journal that city employees plan to surround the less-than-visually-appealing pit with a decorative wall showing panels of past periods.
"We have a rich history that we wanted to portray," Lindsey Wiles, communication manager for the city of Marietta, told the AJC. "The transformer pit is pretty big and a bit of an eyesore and we're going to art it up a bit."
The renovations, which will cost $860,000, include plans to replace the mixed-material ground with brick and concrete. The city will also add trees, a piece of public art, bike racks and better drainage.
Construction is expected to run January through May.
Wiles said the project would benefit from their experience completing a project in North Park Square in just four months.
"Our experiences with that will keep construction time down, minimally affecting businesses in the area," Wiles said.
The project is getting off the ground now, she told the AJC, because federal transportation funding came through to pay for half of the costs. The rest is coming out of a SPLOST and park fund, projects Wiles said voters have already approved, and not the city's general fund.
"It was a project that was on the books for quite some time," Wiles said.
[Read a city plan with artist's renderings of what Atherton Square could look like]
