This ‘parklet’ idea is floated for a bustling Midtown intersection

Midtown’s effort to spruce up and enliven its public spaces shows no sign of slowing.

Midtown Alliance unveiled on Thursday a rendering of what might one day become a pint-sized park at the corner of Peachtree Street and Peachtree Place, a happening Midtown junction that abuts a neighborhood MARTA station.

Called “Commercial Row,” the intersection used to house what many considered the city’s finest boutique dress shop and some restaurants in the 1970s and 1980s.

Now, however, as part of the neighborhood’s ongoing effort to (re)activate public spaces as intown attractions, the corner is being eyed for a green makeover.

The new proposal would welcome a “parklet”—just a tiny park, essentially—to the busy block, and the design is being discussed by project officials, as well as Midtown residents and visitors.

During a three-hour input session Aug. 4, a few dozen people cruised through what someday could be called the “Commercial Row Commons” to lob some ideas for the development.

Midtown Alliance

The project is being designed by Sylvatica Studio, which aims to repurpose six street-side parking spaces in order to create “usable, public space for patrons of the Commercial Row retailers and the neighborhood as a whole,” according to a Midtown Alliance report.

The sidewalk would be expanded to accomodate more foot traffic, and “the realignment of the Peachtree Place and Peachtree Street intersection would improve safety for pedestrians by shortening the crossing distance,” according to Midtown Alliance.

Landscape enhancements and new lighting elements would dot the space.

The project’s design phase is funded by $77,000 from the Midtown Improvement District.

Google Maps

“By introducing a pedestrian-scaled gathering space to this historic intersection,” notes Midtown Alliance’s project page, “users will have an opportunity to experience Midtown on a smaller, more intimate level and to take in the architectural detail of these historic landmarks.”

The plan is hardly the only effort to revitalize streets and corners in the neighborhood.

In April, Midtown Alliance launched another “complete streets” initiative that would reimagine a 5th Street corridor in a similar pedestrian-friendly, less car-centric manner.

Also on the tiny-park radar: a space on 17th Street and the base of the AT&T tower on West Peachtree Street.

• RECAP: Commercial Row Commons Onside Input Session Generates Excitement for Public Spaces [Midtown Alliance]