Beltline moves forward with park expansion, new splash pad

Directly south of Grant Park’s main green space, Atlanta Beltline officials are moving forward with decade-old plans to forge a large, multifunctional park from blighted land.

The Beltline is seeking statements of qualifications from firms to design the second phase of Boulevard Crossing Park, a five-acre Chosewood Park green space with athletic fields that opened in 2011 along the southern stretches of Boulevard, officials said Thursday.

The next phase will boost the park to 23 acres and implement trails, a playground, public art, expanded fields, and the city’s fifth splash pad, joining others from Piedmont Park to nearby D.H. Stanton Park.

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The work will also include a connection to the Beltline’s Southside Trail, which the northwest section of the park is planned to front.

Once built, it would be five acres larger than Historic Fourth Ward Park, for comparison’s sake.

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The deadline for qualified designers to apply is November 29. Once a design team has been selected, a community engagement process will begin, Beltline officials said.

Meanwhile, railroad infrastructure along the Southside Trail has largely—if not completely—been cleared, as design work on the 4.5-mile segment continues.

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Investment activity in the immediate area isn’t relegated to green space.

Next door to the park, Pollack Shores Real Estate Group is expected to break ground this month on 319 Class A apartments along Boulevard and the Southside Trail.

Developers expect to start delivering the rentals—alongside 15,000 square feet of retail and office space—in the fall of 2019, marking one of the first completed developments on the forthcoming trail.

The community, per developers, will also offer rare micro rentals (500 square feet) in an effort to keep rents lower.

The 1099 Boulevard SE site, largely vacant today, is directly east of The Beacon district, along the rail loop.

Surber Barber Choate + Hertlein Architects rendering courtesy of Pollack Shores