Piedmont Park kicks off efforts for expansion, key upgrades

Early April means it’s time in Georgia for two big things: the Masters Tournament and another event that isn’t quite as famous but is equally as old, the Atlanta Dogwood Festival, both celebrating their 88th years in 2024.

For the Piedmont Park Conservancy—an organization launched by a small band of Atlanta conservationists in 1989—this year is especially momentous. And it could result in important physical changes to the city’s marquee greenspace.

The nonprofit has launched the Piedmont Park Conservancy 35th Anniversary Appeal, a campaign that aims to raise $3.5 million for a comprehensive masterplan to add new greenspace and acreage, implement enhancements and needed improvements, and generally help reimagine the park’s more than 200 acres today. A series of celebrations throughout 2024 has been scheduled to boost fundraising efforts.

PPC is working on plans to extend the park’s boundaries to Monroe Drive and Piedmont Avenue in places, coinciding with both the BeltLine Northeast Trail’s arrival in the park this year and the planned expansion of Atlanta Botanical Garden. A portion of funding would be channeled toward studies for park expansion and land acquisition, officials say.  

Officials tell Urbanize Atlanta they’re in the very early stages of master-planning efforts and that more details or renderings for specific expansion sites aren’t yet available. No timeline has been established.

More specifically, the $2.5 million in park upgrades would see lighting installed on the Active Oval exercise area, plus landscaping and beautification efforts around Park Tavern and many of the park’s main entrances (Charles Allen and Park Drive gates, as well as 12th Street, 10th Street, and 14th Street entrances).

Other improvements in the offing would cover restoration for the park’s legacy fountain, splash pad updates, railing repair throughout the park, path repaving, lighting enhancements, and a donor recognition feature, among other changes.

PPC expects to start drafting the masterplan later this year after gathering input from civic groups and neighboring residents. Officials stress that Piedmont Park is known for hosting huge, iconic gatherings—Music Midtown, Atlanta Pride, and the Dogwood Festival among them—but that PPC receives no funding from any event held in the park.

Campaign events throughout the year kick off April 25 with the PPC’s largest annual fundraiser, the Landmark Luncheon, at Piedmont Park’s Promenade. Tickets are on sale now, and proceeds support the park’s daily operations.

Another fundraising shindig—the Party for Piedmont Park—is scheduled for Sept. 26, with a theme of “Party like it’s 1989” as a nod to PPC’s founding year.

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