Residents who live north of Piedmont Park will soon have a new “front door” to the Beltline by way of a pedestrian bridge built by the owner of a prominent shopping center.
Selig Enterprises, the owner of Ansley Mall since 1972, announced Wednesday it will construct a 105-foot bridge to create a new entrance to the Beltline Northeast Trail. The project is part of a larger plan to incorporate the 16-acre shopping center into the popular mixed-use trail.
The bridge is expected to open in late 2023 and will act as the main entryway for residents of the Ansley Park and Piedmont Heights neighborhoods to access the Beltline.
“We consider the Beltline pedestrian bridge as an investment in these beautiful neighborhoods, whose residents have patronized and supported Ansley Mall for decades,” Shirley Gouffon, senior vice president at Selig, said in a news release.
Not many details were released on the bridge’s design. A company spokeswoman told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that renderings and cost estimates were not available. The bridge will run along Clear Creek from Ansley Mall’s northwest corner to the Beltline, and the release said it “will avoid any environmental impact on the surrounding nature.”
The segment of the Beltline closest to Ansley Mall is partially paved, with roughly three-quarters of a mile of concrete opening east of the shopping center in spring 2021. A second phase of construction will expand the paved section to about 1.2 miles and will include lighting and security cameras. Currently, the paved path segment is accessible via a ramp from Montgomery Ferry Drive.
Ansley Mall, which is anchored by a Publix and a mixture of restaurants and shops, will receive further changes along the new bridge entrance to “create a warm and inviting sense of arrival to the property,” the release said.
Credit: Selig Enterprises
Credit: Selig Enterprises
Abe Schear, a partner in real estate and leasing practices for Arnall Golden Gregory and not affiliated with Selig, said the bridge provides a much-needed entrance to an area of the Beltline that is currently tough to access. More connectivity will be a boon for the shopping center, Beltline and residents who frequent the area, he added.
“It’s just another example of how the Beltline is integrating various neighborhoods and various businesses,” Schear said.
Dave Pierce, the Beltline’s vice president of real estate and asset management, said partnerships with property owners is a critical part of melding the multi-use trail with surrounding areas.
“These privately driven access points often serve as additional gateways to neighborhoods and trail destinations, supplementing the access points that (the Beltline) constructs to public streets,” he said in an email.
When complete, the Northeast Trail will connect Piedmont Park to the Lindbergh MARTA station.
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