New garden attraction could sprout soon in south Fulton

Roderick Gay’s eight-year-old dream soon could take root and offer another drawing card to south Fulton County.

Gay touts his proposed $5 million World Botanical Garden and environmental education center as potentially drawing up to 50,000 visitors a year and creating 15 to 20 jobs.

“We’re currently looking at two sites and hope to start on the project in the spring,” Gay said.

The first site is on 47 acres near the soon to open Wolf Creek Amphitheater adjacent to Merk Road. If this site is picked, Gay said, Fulton County would have to sign off on a 50-year ground lease to World Botanical Garden. He plans to address the Fulton County Commission about the issue in March.

The other site is adjacent to Westlake High School’s old campus near Union Road and is privately owned. “The Westlake site could offer us an opportunity to use some of the classrooms for education,” Gay said.

South Fulton Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Dyan Matthews is a big backer of Gay's vision.

"We looked at his plans and sent him a letter of support. We believe it could be a beautiful addition to the area," she said.

Matthews said many residents in the region do not know about the beauty of the southern part of the county, and the botanical garden would be a good draw for visitors. "We're an undiscovered secret," she said.

Gay, a College Park landscape contractor, decided in 2003 to act on his vision to develop, build and operate a botanical garden and environmental education center in Fulton.

He said the project was presented to the county’s zoning office and the planners initially asked him to consider developing it among 400 acres of county-owned land in south Fulton. The site was the 1996 Olympic shooting venue at Wolf Creek.

But, Gay said, the project stalled while Wolf Creek was being sought by the state. The shooting venue eventually stayed in the county’s possession and is the site of the Tom Lowe Shooting Grounds.

Gay said the project would be developed in five phases. The first phase, which he hopes to start in the spring after a site is selected, features a welcome facility, restrooms, demonstration gardens and a 5-acre great lawn.

Eventually, the gardens would include bicycle and walking trails. The final phases would add an environmental education center and community center.

Funding for the first $1.2 million phase of the project has been secured through the Georgia Conservation Loan Fund, Gay said, and could be used for either site. Each site is just 10 minutes away from Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, the Georgia International Convention Center and several neighborhoods.

Gay said his project would not be competition for the Atlanta Botanical Garden, but rather serve as another alternative in the region.

Atlanta Botanical Garden Executive Director Mary Pat Matheson said any project that leads to saving more green space and educating children about the environment is worthwhile.

Matheson said she admires Gay's undertaking and is reminded of a similar endeavor.