D L Hollowell Parkway / Veterans Memorial Highway LCI Study Cobb County I City of Atlanta in association with Atlanta Regional Commission Final Report - July 2010 LEAD FIRM : SIZEMORE GROUP in association with KIMLEY HORN and ASSOCIATES INC., HUNTLEY PARTNERS, PEQ, INC., BOWLER ENGINEERS, INC., and INTEGRAL GROUP LLC. D L Hollowell Parkway / Veterans Memorial Highway LCI Study Cobb County I City of Atlanta in association with Atlanta Regional Commission Final Report - July 2010 LEAD FIRM : SIZEMORE GROUP in association with KIMLEY HORN and ASSOCIATES INC., HUNTLEY PARTNERS, PEQ, INC., BOWLER ENGINEERS, INC., and INTEGRAL GROUP LLC. D L Hollowell Parkway / Veterans Memorial Highway LCI Study Credits Cobb County City of Atlanta City of Atlanta Cobb County Kasim Reed Board of Commissioners Mayor Helen Goreham - District 1 Atlanta City Council Bob Ott - District 2 Thea Powell - District 3 Cesar C. Mitchell, Council President Woody Thompson - District 4 Carla Smith - District 1 Kwanza Hall - District 2 Planning Commission Ivory L. Young Jr. - District 3 Murray Homan, Chairman Cleta Winslow - District 4 Bob Hovey - District 1 Natalyn M. Archibong - District 5 Mike Terry - District 2 Alex Wan - District 6 Christi Trombetti - District 3 Howard Shook - District 7 Judy Williams, At Large Yolanda Adrean - District 8 Felicia Moore - District 9 Department of Transportation C.T. Martin - District 10 Faye DiMassimo, AICP Keisha Bottoms - District 11 Director Joyce Sheperd - District 12 Laraine A. Vance Michael Julian Bond - Post 1 At Large Planning Divison Manager Aaron Watson - Post 2 At Large H. Lamar Willis - Post 3 At Large Jason Gaines, AICP Transportation Planner Department of Planning and Community Development James Shelby Commissioner Bureau of Planning Charletta Wilson-Jacks Director, Bureau of Planning Garnett Brown Assistant Director, Bureau of Planning Jessica Lavandier Principal Planner, Bureau of Planning Shelley Peart Principal Planner, Bureau of Planning D L Hollowell Parkway / Veterans Memorial Highway LCI Study Cobb County City of Atlanta Atlanta Regional Commission Consultant Team Brad Calvert LEAD FIRM :: URBAN DESIGN, PLANNING and PROJECT MANAGEMENT Manager, Land Use SIZEMORE GROUP Rob LeBeau Bill De St. Aubin, AIA, LEED AP Venky Babu, AICP, LEED AP Senior Principal Planner, Land Use Principal-in-Charge Associate Principal / Project Manager Vani Herlekar, AICP, LEED AP Özgür Basak, Alkan, LEED AP Stakeholder Team Planner Planner Councilwoman Felicia Moore, City of Atlanta Commissioner Woody Thompson, Cobb County PUBLIC OUTREACH AND CONSENSUS Tameka Wimberly, MARTA Connie Johnson, MARTA Planners For Environmental Quality (PEQ), Inc. Charles Whatley, ADA Inga Kennedy James Davis Gregg Simon, ADA President Planner Ellen Wickersham, ADA Wayman Winston, ADA Flor Velarde, ADA MARKET STUDY Ted Zitelli, Empire Distributors, AIP Sam McCollough, AIP Huntley and Associates David Aynes, Atlanta Leasing and Investment Assc. Rick Padgett Chuck Young, AHA Principal Bakari Brooks, AHA Cathy Richards, NPU H Ola Reynolds, NPU G TRANSPORTATION Pearl Johnson, NPU J Jim Martin, NPU D Kimley Horn and Associates, Inc. Wayne Grady, NPU I Edward Ellis Rob Ross Connie Poselenzy, Frieght Industry Principal Project Manager Debra Edelson, Trust for Public Land Richard Tucker, Trust for Public Land John Raulet, Raulet Properties TRANSPORTATION Rev. Larry Hill, NW Business Association Bowler Engineers Inc., Karen Barton, Chattahoochee Business & Ind. Assc. Dobson Harris, Mableton Improvement Coalition Carol Bowler Donald Bowler Roberta Cook, The River Line Historic Area Principal John Krueger Hermia Simmons-Deveaux, Harmony-Leland School Stephen Arms, Marthasville Development Walter Brown, Green Street Properties DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY Jim Albright, 3M Company Integral Group LLC Jon Campbell, CBS Outdoors Brien Borden, GRTA Daryl Jones Cabral Franklin Bobby Hilliard, GDOT Vice President, Manager, Development Robert Hughes, GDOT Development Div. Division Elaine Armster, GDOT Contents D L Hollowell Parkway / Veterans Memorial Highway LCI Study Cobb County City of Atlanta Executive Summary .................................................................................07 1.0 Project Overview .................................................................................17 2.0 Community Profile .................................................................................23 2.1 Location and Context 2.2 Land Use and Zoning 2.3 Neighborhood and NPUs 2.4 Historic and Cultural Resources 2.5 Natural Resources 2.6 Green Spaces, Parks and Trails 2.7 Land Ownership 2.8 Urban Design 2.9 Transportation Analysis 2.10 Demographic and Socio-Economic Profile 3.0 Development Plan .................................................................................59 3.1 Public Process 3.2 Community Vision 3.3 Design Workshop 3.4 Master Plan 3.5 Development Opportunities 4.0 Recommendations .................................................................................85 4.1 Land Use and Zoning 4.2 Transportation 4.3 River, Green Space and Historic Resources 4.4 Economic Development 4.5 Urban Design 4.6 Sustainable Strategies 5.0 Action Plan .................................................................................107 5.1 Implementation Strategies 5.2 Work Program 5.3 25 Year Projections 6.0 Appendix .................................................................................131 6.1 Stakeholder Interviews 6.2 Character Preference Survey Results 6.3 Public Comments Executive Summary D L Hollowell Parkway / Veterans Memorial Highway LCI Study Cobb County City of Atlanta Introduction The Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway/Veterans Memorial Highway (HVM) Corridor LCI is a joint planning effort by the City of Atlanta and Cobb County. The City of Atlanta and Cobb County sought after and were awarded one of the six ARC’s Livable Centers Initiative Study Grants for 2009 which is the principal source of funding for this study. The study area spreads across both Jurisdictions; Cobb County and City of Atlanta. The HVM corridor is an interesting arterial corri- dor that takes different characteristics along the length of the study area. It is approximately 4.5 miles long that stretches on both sides of I-285 starting from Commercial Avenue on the east end to Buckner Road to the west. The corridor displays three distinct stretches each with unique charac- teristics; the In-town stretch, the Industrial stretch and Suburban stretch. The In-town Stretch is east of I-285 from Harwell Road to the east end of the study boundary that is within Atlanta; has smaller ROW, with buildings closer to the road and neigh- borhoods adjacent to them with active pedes- STUDY AREA LOCATION and AERIAL MAP trian, bike and transit activity. The Industrial stretch idents. Besides these, the study area includes two extends from Harwell Road to Riverview Road that SMYRNA includes I-285 and Fulton Industrial Boulevard and large public housing redevelopment sites, namely MABLETON Atlanta Industrial Park. This stretch is dominated by Bowen Homes and Bankhead Courts that are being industrial use, truck and freight traffic. The Suburban demolished for redevelopment. The study area also stretch extends from Riverview Road to the west includes large green space along the Chattahoochee MIDTOWN end of the study boundary (Buckner Road). This River and Nickajack Creek. stretch is mainly suburban residential with pockets DOWNTOWN of retail/commercial services that serve the com- The corridor faces challenging issues some of munity needs. The ROW is wide with higher traf- which are unique to the Atlanta side and some to fic speeds with development oriented inwards away Cobb side and some common to both. The issues from the street with gated residential communities that are unique to Atlanta are; redevelopment of along them. The most interesting and unique part under utilized parcels and declining businesses, of the study area is the Chattahoochee River that aging and obsolete commercial building stock along AIRPORT offers great potential for both Cobb and Atlanta res- the Hollowell Parkway, redevelopment of Bowen Executive Summary 7 D L Hollowell Parkway / Veterans Memorial Highway LCI Study Cobb County City of Atlanta Introduction (cont’d) Homes and Bankhead Courts, ROW availability for The HVM corridor has tremendous potential for • To create a cohesive attractive corridor with the corridor expansion, improving the pedestrian, transit-supportive development and redevelop- a ‘sense of place’ and a unique identity. bike and transit infrastructure, economic activ- ment and creating sustainable communities. The • To create a good mix of housing, retail, com- ity, image and sense of place. The issues that are study area can maximize linkages and relation- mercial, office, recreation uses, and uses that unique to Cobb are; preserving and enhancing the ships between commercial nodes, employment generate jobs / employment, and to balance historic resources, enhancement of Riverview Road districts, neighborhoods, and parks as well as the residential and industrial uses and activities. and traffic issues, making the Veterans Memorial potential for sustainable redevelopment of under corridor more pedestrian friendly environment and utilized areas. The corridor presents a combina- • To create a community that provides excel- ensuring the development of vacant properties are tion of assets, opportunities and conditions to sup- lent, convenient, and safe access to transit. in line with those principles and creating a