A project Atlanta BeltLine leaders envision as a communal amenity and trailside landmark is expected to open in coming weeks.
Located just north of Memorial Drive, an Eastside Trail feature called the Reynoldstown Community Space is on pace to host a ribbon-cutting in August, though a specific date hasn’t been finalized, according to BeltLine spokesperson Jenny Odom.
Plans call for the Reynoldstown space to be eye-catching and multifunctional—but still a scaled-down version of the performance area with an architectural stage once dreamed up for the site.
According to a recent BeltLine construction update, the Reynoldstown Community Space will serve as a “longterm cultural landmark and community amenity” with “monumental sculptural forms that serve as both public art and seating.”
Expected layout of the Reynoldstown Community Space. Atlanta BeltLine Inc.
Construction is ongoing near Muchacho restaurant’s expanded patios, across the BeltLine from the Madison at Reynoldstown, an affordable-housing apartment project that’s going vertical now.
As designed by Boston-based Make/Do Studio, the project includes wiring for performances that need electricity.
BeltLine officials have said the dune-like sculptures will be striped in Reynoldstown’s official color, yellow, and designed to frame outdoor performances. They’re being built to playground standards for kiddos to climb—or for tired exercisers to lean on—creating the illusion of change as BeltLine patrons pass by.
The latest project design. Atlanta BeltLine Inc.
Plans for transforming one grassy nook of land in the area—tucked between the BeltLine corridor and a tree-topped cliff—have been kicked around since at least 2014. That year, the Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs secured a $100,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to help fund the project’s design, in conjunction with Georgia Tech.
What eventually came of that was a dramatic concept with tiered seating and a stage called “Bifurcations,” as led by Tristan al-Haddad and Formations Studio, which was later cancelled, to the dismay of Reynoldstown residents.
BeltLine leadership, for their part, responded in 2018 that designs were merely an exercise to see what might be possible at the trailside location.
Tiered seating at the concept compiled several years ago, which BeltLine officials have called merely an experiment to determine what was possible at the site. Formations Studio
The project continues the BeltLine’s push to activate trailside spaces in neighborhoods around the city. Those efforts since last year have included a pop-up DJ and radio station, now housed in a shipping container in Old Fourth Ward, and a BeltLine Marketplace concept that aims to support Black-owned businesses with pop-up shops around the Eastside and Westside trails.
Hoof up to the gallery for more renderings and background for the forthcoming Reynoldstown Community Space.
...
Follow us on social media:
• Reynoldstown news, discussion (Urbanize Atlanta)
