Loridans Greenspace 2018 VISION PLAN Prepared by Park Pride ii LORIDANS GREENSPACE VISION PLAN 2018 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS PARK PRIDE iii Park Pride would like to recognize the held a playground for the elementary school efforts of the North Buckhead neighbors (razed during the construction of GA 400). around this small greenspace on Loridans Nick Scott’s avid interest in the all-but-erased Drive, now owned by the City of Atlanta Lowery-Stevens Cemetery next to his home Department of Parks & Recreation. broadened our understanding of the site’s Neighbors came together to participate historic significance. Jane, Ron, and Nick, as in shaping this small but important slice of well as Patti Brennan and Rita Christopher all their community and to become informed lent insights gained through years of making about any proposed changes within their this neighborhood their home. neighborhood of single-family homes and curving suburban streets. Also important on the steering committee were the voices of young families settling into the neighborhood. Amy Stewart, Ashley & David Marsh, Lisa Dwyer, Adam Bell, Jeff Acknowledgements Anarumo, and Celena Evans, each offered perspectives on the kind of place they’d Change, especially when unexpected, is like to raise the next generation of North stressful—and can be contentious—and this Buckhead neighbors. We appreciated Nancy neighborhood has seen its fair share. It was Bliwise’s expertise in statistical analysis while sliced in half by the construction of Georgia creating our survey questions. 400 in the 1990s, losing an elementary school, a playground and even homes. Road Sally Silver was an instrumental liaison between the Steering Committee and construction narrowly bypassed the Lowery- ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Stevens Family Cemetery, with documented Council Member Howard Shook. graves dating to 1852. Since the GA 400 We especially want to thank our guest upheaval, the neighborhood has firmly held speakers, Wright Mitchell, Emeritus board its ground as Buckhead’s business district member, Buckhead Heritage Society, has prospered, overshadowing its quiet tree- and Tamara Bazzle, president, Buckhead lined streets. Heritage Society, who helped us understand Several North Buckhead neighbors came better how to responsibly preserve and care forward to devote their time and energy for a historical cemetery. to the Visioning steering committee. Finally, neither the steering committee We appreciate their willingness to act as meetings nor the public meetings would liaisons and representatives for the larger have been possible without the generosity community. Gordon Certain is no novice of the St. James United Methodist Church to neighborhood organization or to parks. and the meeting spaces it provided. Thank His past experience in nearby parks, his you so much for this support enthusiasm and attention to detail, and his love of the neighborhood were greatly Last but not least, we thank Denise Starling, appreciated throughout this process. Executive Director, Livable Buckhead, for recognizing the need for a community- We also appreciate Jane Thomson for driven vision as plans for PATH 400 become bringing important voices and concerns a reality. Shaped by the community’s to the Visioning process and making sure recommendations, Loridans Greenspace will all were heard. Long-time residents and be an amenity for all to enjoy. property owners directly adjacent to the greenspace added valuable insights to the – Andrew White and Teri Nye, steering committee. Ron Dubberly shared Nick Stephens and Jaiying Hu, accounts of a time when the greenspace Park Pride’s Visioning Team IV LORIDANS GREENSPACE VISION PLAN 2018 CONTENTS PARK PRIDE 1 Contents Acknowledgements iii Executive Summary 3 Context 5 Existing Conditions 9 Community Engagement 10 Preliminary Plan—Concept 1 18 Preliminary Plan —Concept 2 19 Final Conceptual Plan Insert CONTENTS Projects & Budget 27 Operations & Maintenance 33 Plant List 37 G R N S E E N A S P I D A R C O 400 PATH St James United E L Methodist Church E R I V D S N A L O R I D Loridans GreenspaceG L E N G A GLENGARY WA R Y Y D R N MOUNTAIN WAY E COMMON L i tt N le N A a n O c y T C r R ee N T k A H L B U AT C K H E A D , Preliminary survey of grave sites (January 2019) in the Lowery-Stevens Cemetery revealed the full extent of the cemetery. Individual grave sites and any artifacts will be mapped and recorded using GPS coordinates. 2 LORIDANS GREENSPACE VISION PLAN 2018 The proposed alignment for PATH 400 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY EXECUTIVE PARK PRIDE 3 In December of 2017, Livable Buckhead 1930. Although Garrett observed 30 graves Executive Director, Denise Starling applied at the time of his visit, recent archaeological for a Park Pride Visioning grant on behalf work by New South Associates suggests that of the North Buckhead community. The there may be more than 50 people buried Visioning for Loridans Greenspace was there. Much remains unknown of the people awarded from a pool of applicants as an buried at Lowery-Stevens, but Garrett’s important opportunity for neighbors to notes suggest that many graves are those bring their attention to this space, which of children. Additionally, it is possible that is one of the City of Atlanta’s newest enslaved people or Native Americans may greenspace acquisitions and a point of be buried there. In any case, it provides historical significance along the expanding an interesting window into the past that is route of PATH 400. Over the course of worth researching and interpreting. seven months in 2018, the North Buckhead community worked with Park Pride to Moreover, with the coming construction of develop the vision plan contained herein. PATH 400, it is important for neighbors to have valuable and meaningful input into how this park will be developed. Loridans Greenspace marks the northernmost Atlanta Executive Summary feature along the multi-use trail before it continues northward toward Sandy Spring. This document is a record of the research, The trail will provide formal access to the site engagement and decisions made for the first time since Georgia SR-400 was throughout the park visioning process. It is constructed in the 1990s. It is important that SUMMARY EXECUTIVE intended to guide a phased approach to the park develop in a way that is responsive community-driven development of the park to and respectful of community concerns. in the coming years. Although this plan is a tool for the community, and the non-profit The improvements proposed in this plan Livable Buckhead, it does not have weight will require a relatively modest amount of law and should not be seen as a promise of funding, considering that its primary or guarantee. Each individual component uses will be passive and interpretive. It of the plan will need to be designed, is estimated that the entire park can be vetted, and legally permitted through the accomplished for less than $700,000. Some appropriate authorities. individual projects, such as clearing invasive plants, building nature trails, and defining The North Buckhead community is no the park boundary can be built for less stranger to park planning and development. than $100,000. The low expense and light This vision plan is the third in this impact of the proposed park improvements community, following Mountain Way increases the potential for partnerships with Common and Little Nancy Creek Park. the private and non-profit sectors. Since this For Loridans Greenspace, the community vision plan’s completion, work has already envisioned a beautiful forested park focused begun on archaeological work on the on passive use and historic interpretation. cemetery, an encouraging sign. As home to one of Atlanta’s oldest family This plan will be archived, along with all cemeteries, Lowery-Stevens cemetery, of Park Pride’s vision plans, at the Atlanta Loridans Greenspace holds many historical History Center’s Kenan Research Center. stories and mysteries. With documented burials dating back to 1853, the best records available today consist of a few scant notes written by Franklin Garrett in 4 LORIDANS GREENSPACE VISION PLAN 2018 SANDY SPRINGS Mayson Park Loridans Greenspace Mtn Way Common Capital City Club Blue Heron (Private) Nature Preserve Proposed expansion of PATH400 Little Nancy Creek Park PATH400 CONTEXT Sources: Esri, HERE, Garmin, Intermap, increment P Corp., GEBCO, USGS, FAO, NPS, NRCAN, GeoBase, IGN, Kadaster NL, Ordnance Survey, Esri Japan, METI, Esri China (Hong Kong), swisstopo, © OpenStreetMap contributors, and the GIS User Community North Buckhead Parks The North Buckhead area’s parks and greenspaces and 10-minute walksheds shown in context to the existing (2019) PATH400 trail. The Loridans Greenspace will offer greenspace Loridans Greenspace to approximately 170 households that don’t already have a park within a 10-minute walk. The expansion 10-minute walkshed, Loridans Greenspace of PATH400 will also greatly expand the access to greenspaces that already exist, such as Mountain Way Nearby North Buckhead Public Parks Common. PATH400 is expected to be completed to Loridans Drive by 2023. 10-minute walkshed PATH400 is one of the major trunk lines in the regional Private Greenspace trail network and provides opportunities for recreation, which has direct health and wellness benefits as well as a commute alternative to Buckhead and beyond via direct connectivity to three MARTA rail stations. Expanded public park and greenspace connectivity is also a benefit for neighborhoods that have lost their neighborlyness to car-oriented street patterns, no sidewalks, and large private lots. PARK PRIDE 5 Context Loridans Greenspace today exists only in 42 of the 17th District of Fulton County in name and vision, although its grounds have 1853. This record makes Lowery’s grave one a long and varied history, unique within of the oldest family gravesites now within Atlanta.