The beating heart of funky Little Five Points is set for an overhaul.  

After a decade of fundraising and planning, the Little 5 Points Improvement District last week broke ground on a renovation of Findley Plaza, a communal gathering hub bordering the intersection of the district’s many streets. 

According to the Little 5 Points Alliance, the most significant change at Findley Plaza will be a wide-open centralized space designed to host events and other activities, dotted with new benches and bike racks (yes, please). The plaza will also have access to electricity for programming. 

Behind construction fencing, crews have removed old trees that were struggling; plans call for replacing them with new Nuttall Oak trees, situated between the plaza and Moreland and Euclid avenues to provide a buffer and needed shade, according to the alliance. 

A L5P sculpture by Atlanta artist R.Land—known for his “Pray for ATL” hands and colorful, zany murals—will also be included, per a 2021 project recap. 

“The goal of the newly redesigned Findley Plaza is to create a flexible, community driven space that is welcoming to all,” the alliance wrote in 2021. 

Overview of Findley Plaza plans at the corner of Moreland and Euclid avenues. Little 5 Points Alliance/Little 5 Points Improvement District; designs, Pond & Company

Construction fencing erected around Findley Plaza—and swiftly tagged—last week. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

The remade plaza calls for more than 13,000 square feet of new impervious surfaces, per designs approved by the City of Atlanta and Urban Design Commission more than six years ago. Russell Landscape, Lichty Commercial Construction, and the city’s Department of Transportation are named as partners in the project. 

In addition to private donors and businesses, Park Pride, the Renew Atlanta bond program, and city council are credited as funding sources. Plans call for installing donor bricks in the plaza to acknowledge contributors. 

Opened-up plaza space and planned placement of new bike racks along Euclid Avenue. Little 5 Points Alliance/Little 5 Points Improvement District; designs, Pond & Company

Beginnings of plaza construction along Euclid Avenue today. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

We’ve asked alliance officials for a construction timeline but hadn’t heard back as of press time. A project summary in 2021 said construction should take between six and nine months. [UPDATE: 8:19 a.m., Aug. 5: Lauren Welsh, Little 5 Points Alliance executive director, relays this regarding construction of the $830,000 project: "Hardscaping of the project will be done by mid-October. Construction will take a two-week break so as not to interfere with Halloween festivities. Then landscaping will be done by mid-November." She says $458,000 of the budget was supplied from Renew Atlanta funding.] 

All Little Five Points businesses will be open during the plaza renovation. 

Head up to the gallery for more Findley Plaza images and context. 

Plaza plans approved in 2019 by the city and its Urban Design Commission.Pond; via Little 5 Points Alliance

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