Buckhead’s ‘Park Over GA400’ project scores cash to press forward

The prospect of a large park sitting atop Ga. Highway 400 in Buckhead just became incrementally more believable.

In early June, it was reported that investors didn’t seem keen on opening up their wallets to help finance the estimated $250 million project, which would cap the highway between Peachtree and Lenox roads, renovate the Buckhead MARTA stop, and spruce up the area with needed green space.

But during a June 19 State Road and Tollway Authority board meeting, officials announced the development—tentatively called “Park Over GA400”—had been awarded one of the grants it was vying for.

Via SRTA’s Georgia Transportation Infrastructure Bank grant program, Park Over GA400 secured $600,000 to advance the project, Buckhead Community Improvement District officials announced this week.

Renderings: Rogers Partners Architects + Urban Designers, via Buckhead Community Improvement District

The BCID—the brains behind the proposal and the group that’s still spearheading it—said that cash will be used for topographic and utility survey work, which could kick off in September.

The BCID has also partnered with MARTA to identify possible transit-station upgrades that could both up efficiency and help the park project.

In related news, Park Over GA400 heads just announced that one potential donor might be willing to fork over $1 million to help see the idea through. The unnamed investor indicated they might be willing to pitch in more later, according to a BCID press release.

However, the fundraising efforts are still a long way from over, and the BCID has said it doesn’t want to use any tax cash to fund the project.

Given construction complexities, the project is expected to take until at least 2022 to fully open. Meanwhile, the BCID will keep chipping away at that roughly $250 million.

Rogers Partners Architects + Urban Designers, via Buckhead Community Improvement District

• Investors aren’t giddy about dropping big bucks for Buckhead Park over Ga. 400 [Curbed]
• For Buckhead’s highway-capping park, dazzling new vision, timeline unveiled [Curbed]