Community Blog

An early rendering illustrating the park’s recreational potential. Renderings: Rogers Partners The good news: Buckhead’s quest to create one of America’s great urban spaces from dead air above Ga. Highway 400 is still very much alive and is reaching new milestones. The bad: Atlantans have to wait until next week for the 411. Reps for the Buckhead Community Improvement District tell Curbed Atlanta the group’s monthly meeting Wednesday morning will be momentous—and possibly a cause for celebration among Atlanta urbanists. Expected to emerge at the public meeting: a timeline for the park that sounds more concrete than ever, with details on funding, engineering, environmental work, design, “groundmaking,” and even the ribbon-cutting. The BCID is also expected to unveil new park renderings and a “360 virtual reality video” that could bring the concept to life like never before, officials said. The “Park over GA 400” concept joins a host of potentially game-changing proposals across Atlanta—The Gulch redevelopment, the Beltline’s Northeast Trail, Pullman Yard’s adaptive-reuse overhaul, and downtown’s own highway-capping greenspace, among other ideas—that could help forge a more livable city in coming years. But in the glacial world of urban planning, Buckhead’s park idea has been on a relative roll since it was first floated two years ago. The latest aerial concept image available. Rogers Partners The results of a Phase II study (producing the first renderings) emerged months after the park’s announcement, and a Request for Proposals was issued within the next year. Soon, design firm Rogers Partners was authorized by the BCID to proceed with a study, costing at max $365,000, that would examine funding mechanisms (private funds, sales tax allocation, and even MARTA coffers have reportedly been considered). Earlier studies have shown the park is technically possible, and that it would have a negligible impact on traffic and parking in the neighborhood. Previous estimates put the park’s cost at more than $200 million, which stirred grumbles among some BCID board members in meetings earlier this year. The last timeline floated tentatively put construction starting in 2020 and the ribbon-cutting at a completed park by 2023. Here’s hoping next week’s announcements predict the process will be expedited.   Source: In Buckhead’s quest to build park over Ga. 400, big news is on tap, officials say – Curbed Atlanta

Those suddenly ubiquitous, sky-blue bikes on Atlanta’s streets are marching northward. Livable Buckhead officials send word that a Wednesday ribbon-cutting will officially mark the launch of bike share in Buckhead, at a time when the booming submarket’s multi-use trail is expanding and talk of added greenspace is getting real. The three Buckhead stations—including hubs at Tower Place and Piedmont Center (3535 Piedmont Road NE)—will be an extension of Atlanta’s rapidly expanding Relay Bike Share. The official kick-off happens at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday at Tower Place Park (coinciding with a weekly food truck event) and will include Bike Share 101 lessons and test rides to PATH400. Added bonus: New bike share users at the event can snag a promo code for a $5 Relay Bike Share account credit. The Relay program has come far in a year. It launched in June 2016 with just 100 bikes at 10 stations around downtown; by April, officials were celebrating the arrival of 400 more “Big Blue” eight-speeds, which have been positioned at 60 stations around the city, from West End and Vine City to Old Fourth Ward’s Studioplex and Midtown’s Colony Square. Source: Buckhead will officially launch its bike share program this week – Curbed Atlanta

Welcome to the spring edition of the Eater Atlanta Cocktail Heatmap. Like its food-driven companion, this north-to-south booze guide keeps thirst Atlantans up to date on where to drink around town and will change with the seasons to chronicle the watering holes that are worth a visit at the moment. These highly sophisticated findings are based on tips from readers, which watering holes are creating the most interesting cocktail concoctions, and what’s new on the scene. This spring’s list of eight spans from Buckhead to Decatur and everywhere in between. Cheers! Source: Where to Drink Cocktails in Atlanta Right Now, Spring 2017

Harry’s Pizzeria is a concept from Miami, Fla.-based The Genuine Hospitality Group. It was developed by Chef Michael Schwartz, who was named best chef in the South by the James Beard Foundation in 2010. “Pies feature fresh, chef-curated toppings and a tender, quick-fired crust with integrity, like braised short rib,” says the website for Harry’s Pizzeria. It’s unclear exactly where the pizzeria would go at Phipps Plaza. A spokeswoman for mall owner Simon Property Group Inc. (NYSE:SPG) could not be immediately reached for comment. Yet, in previous interviews, the general manager of Phipps said he’s looking to bring new eateries to the front of the mall to replace the former Twist restaurant. Atlanta Business Chronicle in April reported that Georgia’s first Grand Lux Cafe is also coming to Phipps Plaza, along with other new eateries. Read more here. Harry’s Pizzeria plans to expand in Georgia over the coming years, Sunil Bhatt, CEO of Harry’s Pizzeria Holdings LLC, said in an announcement about a new location in Florida. “Opening in Downtown Dadeland is not only exciting in enabling us to reach more people with the better pizza they crave, but it’s a milestone for our company as well as we embark on a multi-year expansion project,” Bhatt said. “Starting that process with multiple South Florida locations will provide us with the foundation we need as we move north in Florida, into Georgia and beyond over the coming years”. Harry’s Pizzeria today has just three locations in Florida, according to its website. Source: New-to-market Harry’s Pizzeria planned for Phipps Plaza mall – Atlanta Business Chronicle

The Atlanta City Council’s finance committee approved legislation June 14 that will provide $3 million in funding to renovate Buckhead lots into fully-equipped public parks. Lenox Park, near Lenox Square mall, and Old Ivy Park in the North Buckhead neighborhood, will be outfitted with accessible walking paths,  playgrounds, pavilions, plazas, bike racks and park benches. The money […] Source: City approves $3 million to renovate Buckhead parks – Reporter Newspapers