West of Atlantic Station, Waterworks Greenspace set to debut next month

Atlanta’s Upper Westside is fast becoming a true destination for new restaurants, retail, and residences, but it’s lacking in terms of approachable green space.

That soon could change.

In September, thanks to years of activist efforts calling for sprucing up the area with a public park, crews began clearing a 4.5-acre site at the corner of Northside Drive and 17th Street of its overgrowth.

Workers with Russell Landscaping hauled away more than 63,000 square feet of brush and privet, as well as dead trees, to make way for an overhaul that’s brought walking trails and a hilltop hangout with seating and skyline views to the neighborhood.

On December 2, the park, abutting an old waterworks facility between Howell Mill Road and Atlantic Station, is scheduled to officially reopen.

Courtesy of Upper Westside Improvement District

The ribbon-cutting for the aptly named Waterworks Greenspace will be led by advocacy group Friends of Atlanta Waterworks and the Upper Westside Improvement District.

The green space neighbors the Atlanta Waterworks Reservoirs, which are surrounded by chain-link fences the city installed to protect against terrorism during the 1996 Olympics.

The reservoirs themselves will still be off-limits to the public after the ribbon-cutting.

The park also overlooks a 12.5-acre site on which Fuqua Development is building a Kroger, Chipotle, self-storage facility—to the chagrin of some in the community—and more.

This story was updated on November 29, 2018 at 12:30 p.m. to change the grand opening date from December 1 to December 2. The event was postponed due to rain.