One mile west of the Westrock property is another game-changer and this one is big! The official ground-breaking of the 270-acre Westside Park at Bellwood Quarry took place on 9/06/18. This transformative greenspace project has the potential to change west Atlanta in a profound way.
The park boundaries roughly consist of Marietta Boulevard to the east; Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway to the south; Hollywood Boulevard to the west and Johnson Road to the north. Four neighborhoods surround Westside Park at Bellwood Quarry including Bankhead, Grove Park, West Highlands and Knight Park / Howell Station. For some geographic perspective, the north entrance to the park is about three miles from Midtown and one mile from the new Star Provisions on Ellsworth Industrial Boulevard. The southern entrance is a few blocks north of the Bankhead MARTA station.
It is important to note that Proctor Creek and the Proctor Creek Greenway run through the western side of the park as it flows north and west toward the Chattahoochee. The Atlanta Beltline corridor runs along Marietta Boulevard just east of the property. The park lies within Subarea 9 of the Beltline master planning area. Formerly known as Westside Reservoir Park, this parcel of land was identified as potential greenspace by Alexander Garvin in his seminal Emerald Necklace Study (see Page 116).
Once complete, the $300 million project will serve two purposes. The 270-acre green space will become Atlanta’s largest city park (100 acres larger than Piedmont Park). It will also increase the city’s water supply from 3 to 5 days to an estimated 30 to 90 days. This will be accomplished by converting the 100-year old granite quarry, which was purchased by the City of Atlanta from Vulcan Materials in 2006, into a 2.4-billion-gallon water (non-recreational) reservoir. The water will be piped in via a five-mile tunnel that will connect the quarry to the Chattahoochee River via the Hemphill Water Treatment Plant. The water supply project is scheduled for completion by September 2019 and the quarry should be filled with water in 2020.
According to city officials, the park will be opened in phases. Phase I (the western portion of the park) is expected to open in 2020. My understanding is that the first entrance will be from Johnson Road near the community of West Highlands.
The park boundaries roughly consist of Marietta Boulevard to the east; Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway to the south; Hollywood Boulevard to the west and Johnson Road to the north. Four neighborhoods surround Westside Park at Bellwood Quarry including Bankhead, Grove Park, West Highlands and Knight Park / Howell Station. For some geographic perspective, the north entrance to the park is about three miles from Midtown and one mile from the new Star Provisions on Ellsworth Industrial Boulevard. The southern entrance is a few blocks north of the Bankhead MARTA station.
It is important to note that Proctor Creek and the Proctor Creek Greenway run through the western side of the park as it flows north and west toward the Chattahoochee. The Atlanta Beltline corridor runs along Marietta Boulevard just east of the property. The park lies within Subarea 9 of the Beltline master planning area. Formerly known as Westside Reservoir Park, this parcel of land was identified as potential greenspace by Alexander Garvin in his seminal Emerald Necklace Study (see Page 116).
Once complete, the $300 million project will serve two purposes. The 270-acre green space will become Atlanta’s largest city park (100 acres larger than Piedmont Park). It will also increase the city’s water supply from 3 to 5 days to an estimated 30 to 90 days. This will be accomplished by converting the 100-year old granite quarry, which was purchased by the City of Atlanta from Vulcan Materials in 2006, into a 2.4-billion-gallon water (non-recreational) reservoir. The water will be piped in via a five-mile tunnel that will connect the quarry to the Chattahoochee River via the Hemphill Water Treatment Plant. The water supply project is scheduled for completion by September 2019 and the quarry should be filled with water in 2020.
According to city officials, the park will be opened in phases. Phase I (the western portion of the park) is expected to open in 2020. My understanding is that the first entrance will be from Johnson Road near the community of West Highlands.
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ATL H2O Trivia
- In 1891, the Chattahoochee River was selected as the main source for Atlanta’s drinking water by Mayor William Hemphill.
- The Hemphill Water Treatment Plant is a manually operated water treatment plant that is staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days per week.
- The Hemphill Water Treatment Plant was built in 1893 and supplies 65 percent of City’s drinking water.
- Losing water would negatively impact the City of Atlanta economy by an estimated $100 million per day
SOURCE: City of Atlanta Department of Watershed Management