Due west of Midtown and downtown, work to convert a polluted eyesore property and magnet for illegal dumping into a flood-solving green respite near the Atlanta Beltline is barreling ahead. 

A floodplain in the middle of Bankhead dubbed the “Valley of the Hawks”—so called for its propensity to provide habitat for hawks, owls, and falcons—is being converted into a wetland with marshes, ponds, and walking trails in the 1000 block of North Avenue NW. 

Just west of the 8-acre wetland project, the final section of the Beltline’s Westside Trail opened last summer. The abandoned Oak Valley Court Apartments community was demolished just south of the wetland site soon after that.  

Scope of clearing and infrastructure work at the Valley of the Hawks site today. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

The Valley of the Hawks site (green circle) in relation to the Westside Trail and Beltline-owned acreage where hundreds of housing units are planned. Atlanta Beltline Inc.

According to the Atlanta Department of Watershed Management’s request for contractors in spring 2025, the “vacant, overgrown eyesore” is being turned into “a thriving ecosystem that will serve as both critical infrastructure and an attractive natural community amenity,” with connections to surrounding residential streets and eventually to the Westside Trail. 

It’s designed to capture stormwater from a drainage basin spanning 150 acres—and to keep it out of the sewer system to alleviate flooding and sewer overflows in Bankhead, Westin Heights, and English Avenue neighborhoods. (Think of Vine City's Rodney Cook Sr. Park or Historic Fourth Ward Park, but on a smaller scale.) 

Another goal is that wetland vegetation at Valley of the Hawks will improve air quality and remove pollutants from Proctor Creek downstream.

Garbage recently pulled from the site and prepped for removal. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Planned marshes, ponds, and pathways, with the Beltline's Westside Trail shown at left and North Avenue at top. Atlanta Department of Watershed Management; h/t to TW

The city in November hired a joint venture of Integral Municipal Services Corporation and Rockdale Pipeline Inc. as contractors for the $8-million project. 

Longterm plans call for the site to be part of the east-west connector Valley of the Hawks Trail (see page 58 here), linking to the Beltline, Proctor Creek Greenway, and eventually the Chattahoochee River, as Axios noted last year. 

View of current site work from the Beltline's Westside Trail. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

The 1050 North Ave. NW site in the broader context of Westside Atlanta. Google Maps

Just west of the site, the Beltline owns 31 acres where officials have estimated nearly 4,000 housing units and a commercial village could eventually take shape. 

According to a Request for Proposals issued in April last year, phase one calls for up to 150 new homes—all offered for sale, and not rent—plus about 5,000 square feet of walkable commercial space geared toward local small businesses. 

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