The Atlanta BeltLine (also Beltline or Belt Line) is a open and planned loop of
multi-use trail
A shared-use path, mixed-use path or multi-use pathway is a path which is 'designed to accommodate the movement of pedestrians and cyclists'. Examples of shared-use paths include sidewalks designated as shared-use, bridleways and rail trails. A ...
and light rail transit system on a former railway corridor around the core of
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
, Georgia. The Atlanta BeltLine is designed to reconnect neighborhoods and communities historically divided and marginalized by infrastructure, improve transportation, add
green space, promote
redevelopment
Redevelopment is any new construction on a site that has pre-existing uses. It represents a process of land development uses to revitalize the physical, economic and social fabric of urban space.
Description
Variations on redevelopment include: ...
, create and preserve affordable housing, and showcase arts and culture. The project is in varying stages of development, with several mainline and spur trails complete and others in an unpaved, but hikeable, state. Since the passage of the More MARTA sales tax in 2016, construction of the light rail streetcar system is overseen by MARTA in close partnership with Atlanta BeltLine, Inc.
__TOC__
History and concept
As railroad rights-of-way
The first development of the BeltLine area began when the
Atlanta & West Point Railroad
The Atlanta and West Point Rail Road was a railroad in the U.S. state of Georgia, forming the east portion of the Atlanta- Selma West Point Route. The company was chartered in 1847 as the Atlanta and LaGrange Rail Road and renamed in 1857; constr ...
began building a connecting rail line from its northern terminus at
Oakland City to
Hulsey Yard Hulsey Yard is a rail yard of the CSX railroad, stretching approximately along the border of the Old Fourth Ward, Inman Park, Cabbagetown and Reynoldstown neighborhoods of Atlanta. The south wall of the rail yard along Wylie Street in Reynoldstow ...
on the
Georgia Railroad
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
(essentially the southeast quarter of the completed BeltLine). The surveys were done and initial construction had begun when the courts ordered a halt in May 1899 as that work did not fall under the A&WP's charter.
In September 1899, a more ambitious charter for an Atlanta Belt Railway Company was announced that would circle the entire city connecting all rail lines so that freight car transfers could occur on the outskirts rather than downtown. The initial charter was to encompass no more than and named only perimeter points Howell and Clifton Stations. Since Clifton was in
DeKalb County DeKalb County may refer to one of several counties in the United States, all of which were named for Baron Johan DeKalb:
* DeKalb County, Alabama
* DeKalb County, Georgia
* DeKalb County, Illinois
* DeKalb County, Indiana
* DeKalb County, Missour ...
, both it and Fulton were named in the charter. After surveys of the route and right of way acquisitions, the DeKalb portion was ditched leaving the entire route in
Fulton County Fulton County is the name of eight counties in the United States of America. Most are named for Robert Fulton, inventor of the first practical steamboat:
*Fulton County, Arkansas, named after Governor William Savin Fulton
*Fulton County, Georgia
*F ...
. The entire line was completed by 1902.
Concept for transformation
The idea to turn the rail corridors into a ring of trails and parks originated in a 1999 master's degree thesis by
Georgia Tech
The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...
student Ryan Gravel, who founded the non-profit Friends of the Belt Line and works for Perkins+Will. Frustrated with the lack of transportation alternatives in Atlanta, Gravel and two of his colleagues, Mark Arnold and Sarah Edgens, summarized his thesis in 2000 and mailed copies to two dozen influential Atlantans. Cathy Woolard, then the city council representative for district six, was an early supporter of the concept. Woolard, Gravel, Arnold, and Edgens spent the next several months promoting the idea of the BeltLine to neighborhood groups, the
PATH foundation
PATH Foundation is a network of off-road trails in and around the metro Atlanta area for walkers, runners, skaters, and cyclists. The foundation was established in 1991. The goal was to develop a network of off-road trails in Atlanta in time for ...
, and Atlanta business leaders. Supported by Atlanta mayor
Shirley Franklin
Shirley Clarke Franklin (born May 10, 1945) is an American politician, a member of the Democratic Party who served as the 58th mayor of Atlanta, Georgia, from 2002 to 2010. She currently serves as a member on the board of directors for both Delt ...
, previous
city council
A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...
president
Cathy Woolard
Cathy Woolard (born May 10, 1957) is an American politician who served as a member of the Atlanta City Council for District 6 from November 1998 to 2002, and as President of the Council from 2002 to 2004. When she began her term in 1997, she was ...
, and many others in Atlanta's large business community, the idea grew rapidly during 2003 and 2004.
The railroad tracks and
rights-of-way
Right of way is the legal right, established by grant from a landowner or long usage (i.e. by prescription), to pass along a specific route through property belonging to another.
A similar ''right of access'' also exists on land held by a gov ...
are owned mostly by
CSX Transportation
CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...
,
Norfolk Southern
The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Railroad classes, Class I freight railroad in the United States formed in 1982 with the merger of Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway (U.S.), Southern Railway. With headquarters in Atlanta, the ...
, and the
Georgia Department of Transportation
The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) is the organization in charge of developing and maintaining all state and federal roadways in the U.S. state of Georgia. In addition to highways, the department also has a limited role in developin ...
. Developer Wayne Mason had purchased most of the NS portion, in anticipation of the BeltLine, but later sold it after conflict with the city.
The total length will be , running about on either side of Atlanta's elongated central business district. It is planned to include a neighborhood-serving transit system (likely streetcars); footpaths for non-motorized traffic, including bicycling,
rollerskating
Roller skating is the act of traveling on surfaces with roller skates. It is a recreational activity, a sport, and a form of transportation. Roller rinks and skate parks are built for roller skating, though it also takes place on streets, si ...
, and
walking
Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined by an 'inverted pendulum' gait in which the body vaults o ...
; and the redevelopment of some . The project (although not the
funding
Funding is the act of providing resources to finance a need, program, or project. While this is usually in the form of money, it can also take the form of effort or time from an organization or company. Generally, this word is used when a firm uses ...
for it) is included in the 25-year
Mobility 2030 plan of the
Atlanta Regional Commission The Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) is the regional planning and intergovernmental coordination agency for the metro Atlanta, Georgia, USA region, defined as the 11-county area of Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, F ...
for improving transit. As of 2014, the project's planners estimated they had 17 years left before the project would be completed, and no light-rail lines had yet been built.
![Beltline eastside trail construction may 2012 1 o4w atlanta](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/21/Beltline_eastside_trail_construction_may_2012_1_o4w_atlanta.JPG)
In 2005 the Atlanta BeltLine Partnership was formed and in 2006 Atlanta BeltLine, Inc. was formed and work began to develop the project.
Connecting the Comet
In September 2019 the James M. Cox Foundation gave $6 Million to the
PATH Foundation
PATH Foundation is a network of off-road trails in and around the metro Atlanta area for walkers, runners, skaters, and cyclists. The foundation was established in 1991. The goal was to develop a network of off-road trails in Atlanta in time for ...
which will connect the
Silver Comet Trail
The Silver Comet Trail is a rail trail in west-northwestern Georgia, United States.
Route
The Silver Comet Trail is named for the '' Silver Comet'' passenger train that traversed the same route from 1947 to 1969. It begins in Smyrna, Georgia, ...
to The Atlanta Beltline which is expected to be completed by 2022.
In May 2022, the James M. Cox foundation announced a $30 million pledge to the
PATH Foundation
PATH Foundation is a network of off-road trails in and around the metro Atlanta area for walkers, runners, skaters, and cyclists. The foundation was established in 1991. The goal was to develop a network of off-road trails in Atlanta in time for ...
in support of the Northwest BeltLine trails project. This donation combined with previous gifts ensured that the funding is now in place to complete the full 22-mile trail corridor by 2030.
Route and trails
![Westside Beltline](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7e/Westside_Beltline.JPG)
The BeltLine will feature a continuous path encircling the central part of the city, generally following the old railroad right of way, but departing from it in several areas along the northwest portion of the route. In total, of multi-use paths are to be built, including spur trails connecting to neighborhoods. The BeltLine connects 45 diverse neighborhoods, some of which are Atlanta's most underserved parks. The
PATH Foundation
PATH Foundation is a network of off-road trails in and around the metro Atlanta area for walkers, runners, skaters, and cyclists. The foundation was established in 1991. The goal was to develop a network of off-road trails in Atlanta in time for ...
, which has many years of experience building such trails in the Atlanta area, is a partner in the development of this portion of the system.
As of mid-2017, completed trails include:
*
Eastside Trail
The Eastside Trail is a walking and biking trail stretching northwest to southeast on the Eastside of Atlanta, part of the BeltLine ring of trails and parks. It is lined with numerous notable industrial buildings adapted into restaurants, shops, a ...
*Northside Trail
*Southwest Connector Trail
*West End Trail
*Westside Trail
as well as interim hiking trails.
Eastside Trail
The Eastside Trail stretches from
Piedmont Park
Piedmont Park is an urban park in Atlanta, Georgia, located about northeast of Downtown, between the Midtown and Virginia Highland neighborhoods. Originally the land was owned by Dr. Benjamin Walker, who used it as his out-of-town gentleman's ...
in the north to
Inman Park
Inman Park is an intown neighborhood on the east side of Atlanta, Georgia, and its first planned suburb. It was named for Samuel M. Inman.
History
Today's neighborhood of Inman Park includes areas that were originally designated
* Inman Park ...
and
Old Fourth Ward
The Old Fourth Ward, often abbreviated O4W, is an intown neighborhood on the eastside of Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The neighborhood is best known as the location of the Martin Luther King Jr. historic site.
Geography
The Old Fourth Wa ...
in the south, passing by the greatest concentration of
industrial architecture Industrial architecture is the design and construction of buildings serving industry. Such buildings rose in importance with the Industrial Revolution, starting in Britain, and were some of the pioneering structures of modern architecture.
File: ...
in Atlanta adapted for residential reuse and as offices, retail, dining and shopping, the most notable example being
Ponce City Market
Ponce City Market is a mixed-use development located in a former Sears catalogue facility in Atlanta, with national and local retail anchors, restaurants, a food hall, boutiques and offices, and residential units. It is located adjacent to th ...
.
Westside/West End Trail
The first trail to be built on the BeltLine, the 2.4-mile West End Trail, was opened in 2008. It edges the
neighborhood of the same name as well as serving
Mozley Park
Mozley Park is a typical early 20th-century residential neighborhood, located approximately three miles west of downtown Atlanta. The community is named after the original landowner, Dr. Hiram Mozley, whose heirs inherited the land after his death ...
and
Westview. The trail stretches from White Street to Westview Cemetery and is built next to city streets. In 2013, the project received a federal grant of $18 million to develop the Westside Trail. The Westside Trail, opened in September 2017, is three miles in length and is in the old railroad corridor. The Westside Trail stretches from
Washington Park and the
MARTA Green (East-West) Line in the north, past West End, ending at University Avenue in
Adair Park
Adair Park is a residential neighborhood located southwest of downtown Atlanta. It has the form of a left curly bracket, bordered by the MARTA north–south rail line on the northwest, the BeltLine trail on the southwest and Metropolitan Parkway ...
. Along parts of the Westside Trail, the West End trail runs parallel and just outside of the old rail corridor.
Northside Trail
The first section of the Northside Trail opened in 2010 and forms part of a larger network of trails at the south end of
Buckhead
Buckhead is the uptown commercial and residential district of the city of Atlanta, Georgia, comprising approximately the northernmost fifth of the city. Buckhead is the third largest business district within the Atlanta city limits, behind Downt ...
, the northern third of the city, in and around
Tanyard Creek Park
Tanyard Creek Park is a park in the Buckhead area of Atlanta. It is located along Tanyard Creek between Collier Road on the north and BeltLine rail corridor to the south. The neighborhood of Collier Hills borders it on the west and Collier Hil ...
in the
Collier Hills
Collier Hills is a residential neighborhood in Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The area gets its name from the List_of_United_States_political_families_(C), family whose homestead was broadly located in the southwest corner of the interse ...
area. An additional stretch, the Northside Spur Trail was opened 2015.
The trail will eventually connect to the
Peachtree Creek Greenway
The Peachtree Creek Greenway trail is a multi-use trail under construction along the North Fork Peachtree Creek in and near Atlanta, Georgia, United States, which will traverse the cities of Atlanta, Brookhaven, Chamblee, Doraville and parts of U ...
and the
PATH400 The PATH400 Greenway Trail is a multi-use trail under construction along the Georgia 400 freeway in Buckhead, Atlanta. Once complete, the trail will be 10 feet (3.0 m) to 14 feet (4.3 m) wide and traverse the cities of Atlanta, Sandy Springs and Du ...
once complete.
Southwest Connector Trail
The Southwest Connector Spur Trail stretches through woods, starting at the Lionel Hampton Trail, ending at Westwood Avenue serving the Beecher Hills and Westwood Terrace neighborhoods. The existing 1.15-mile trail is set to be part of an eventual 4.5-mile trail.
Discontinuities
![Beltline from Woodward Bridge in Piedmont Park](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5b/Beltline_from_Woodward_Bridge_in_Piedmont_Park.JPG)
There are five gaps along the BeltLine where rights of way do not connect and thus create larger challenges to the project.
# Armour — Near the
Lindbergh Center MARTA station, bisected by two active rail lines. Solving this would involve transit sharing the rail right-of-way and splitting off the trail where Clear Creek joins Peachtree Creek, following Clear Creek around the Armour warehouse properties then tunneling under the active rail lines and I-85 to the Ansley Golf Course then rejoining the BeltLine.
#
CSX
CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...
Hulsey Yard Hulsey Yard is a rail yard of the CSX railroad, stretching approximately along the border of the Old Fourth Ward, Inman Park, Cabbagetown and Reynoldstown neighborhoods of Atlanta. The south wall of the rail yard along Wylie Street in Reynoldstow ...
— Near the
Inman Park/Reynoldstown MARTA station. A workaround for the trail is to use the existing tunnel at Krog Street.
# Bill Kennedy Way (also known variously as the Glenwood-Memorial Connector and the Glenwood-Wylie Connector) — a bridge spanning
I-20
Interstate 20 (I‑20) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the Southern United States. I-20 runs beginning at an interchange with I-10 in Scroggins Draw, Texas, and ending at an interchange with I-95 in Florence, South Carolina. Between ...
between
Glenwood Park
Glenwood Park is a mixed-use neighborhood on the east side of Atlanta, Georgia, United States, located just west of North Ormewood Park. The neighborhood is an example of New Urbanism, promoting a sense of community with walkable streets and c ...
/
Ormewood Park Ormewood Park is a neighborhood on the east side of Atlanta, Georgia, United States.
History
This area was the territory of the Creek Indian Nation until approximately 1825 when the Treaty of Indian Springs was signed under Governor George Troup. ...
and
Reynoldstown
Reynoldstown is a historic district and intown neighborhood on the near east side of Atlanta, Georgia, located two miles from downtown. The neighborhood is gentrifying and attracting new families, empty-nesters, Atlantans opposed to long com ...
. The proposed fix here is to widen the bridge enough to support trail, transit and motor traffic.
# Washington Park to Joseph E. Boone Boulevard (formerly Simpson Rd) — near the
Ashby Ashby may refer to:
People
* Ashby (surname)
* Alan la Zouche, 1st Baron la Zouche of Ashby (1267–1314), governor of Rockingham Castle and steward of Rockingham Forest, England
* Walter Ashby Plecker (1861–1947), American physician and publi ...
MARTA station. Proposals include a span over the MARTA tracks or possibly share the right of way.
# Bankhead — The largest gap is near Maddox Park and involves one of the busiest rail corridors in the state. Proposals include 1) taking the trail east to cross under Hollowell Pkwy; 2) diverting through Mead property at Marietta Blvd; or 3) sharing the road with Lowery (formerly Ashby Street).
The Comet Trail Connection
In September 2019 the James M. Cox Foundation gave $6 Million to the PATH Foundation which will connect the
Silver Comet Trail
The Silver Comet Trail is a rail trail in west-northwestern Georgia, United States.
Route
The Silver Comet Trail is named for the '' Silver Comet'' passenger train that traversed the same route from 1947 to 1969. It begins in Smyrna, Georgia, ...
to The Atlanta Beltline which is expected to be completed by 2022. Upon completion, the total combined interconnected trail distance around Atlanta for PATH Foundation trails, the Atlanta BeltLine, and the Silver Comet Trail will be the longest paved trail surface in the U.S., totaling about 300 Miles (480 km).
Parks
In 2004,
The Trust for Public Land
The Trust for Public Land is a U.S. nonprofit organization with a mission to "create parks and protect land for people, ensuring healthy, livable communities for generations to come". Since its founding in 1972, the Trust for Public Land has compl ...
commissioned
Alexander Garvin
Alexander Garvin (March 8, 1941 – December 17, 2021) was an American urban planner, educator, and author. At the time of his death, he was in private practice at AGA Public Realm Strategists in New York City and was also an adjunct professor at ...
to produce a report, ''The BeltLine Emerald Necklace: Atlanta's New Public Realm.'' This report showed the public a vision of transformation for the BeltLine. The BeltLine plan calls for the creation of a series of
parks
A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...
throughout the city creating what the working plan, ''The Beltline Emerald Necklace'', calls the 13 "Beltline Jewels"; they would be connected by the trail and transit components of the plan. In total, the BeltLine will create or rejuvenate of greenspace. The plan would expand these existing parks:
*
Enota Park from
*
Maddox Park
Maddox Park is a community park located in the west side of Atlanta (in the Bankhead neighborhood), across Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway from Bankhead MARTA station. It is approximately west of Georgia Tech. The park has an existing rail line r ...
from
*
Ardmore Park
It would also create these new parks:
*
Peachtree Creek Park at
Peachtree Creek
Peachtree Creek is a major stream in Atlanta. It flows for U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 15, 2011 almost due west into the Chattahoochee River just south of Vin ...
near
Buckhead
Buckhead is the uptown commercial and residential district of the city of Atlanta, Georgia, comprising approximately the northernmost fifth of the city. Buckhead is the third largest business district within the Atlanta city limits, behind Downt ...
*
Hillside Park at the current McDaniel CEO facility
*
Holtzclaw Park Holtzclaw is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bill Holtzclaw (born 1964), American politician
* Daniel Holtzclaw (born 1986), American former police officer and convicted serial rapist
* Henry J. Holtzclaw (1897–1969), Un ...
*
Historic Fourth Ward Park
Historic Fourth Ward Park is a park built on the site of the old Ponce de Leon amusement park, in the Old Fourth Ward of Atlanta, just south of Ponce City Market and just west of the BeltLine Eastside Trail.
Currently the park covers in two sepa ...
( at the to-be-renovated
Ponce City Market
Ponce City Market is a mixed-use development located in a former Sears catalogue facility in Atlanta, with national and local retail anchors, restaurants, a food hall, boutiques and offices, and residential units. It is located adjacent to th ...
(formerly the Sears building and City Hall East)
*
Waterworks Park
*
Westside Park
Westside Park at Bellwood Quarry is a park in the City of Atlanta located on the site of the former Bellwood Quarry. The park is between Johnson Road and Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway and between the neighborhoods of Bankhead, Grove Park, and ...
– roughly twice the size of
Piedmont Park
Piedmont Park is an urban park in Atlanta, Georgia, located about northeast of Downtown, between the Midtown and Virginia Highland neighborhoods. Originally the land was owned by Dr. Benjamin Walker, who used it as his out-of-town gentleman's ...
– on the site of the former
Bellwood Quarry Bellwood may refer to:
People with the surname
* Bessie Bellwood, a popular music hall performer of the Victorian era
* James Charles Bellwood, a New Zealand labourer, physical education instructor and sports coach
* Pamela Bellwood, an American ...
. The former gravel pit will become a reservoir.
The Trust for Public Land, a national non-profit, partnered with the Atlanta BeltLine project and acquired 33 properties, totaling . These properties will increase Atlanta's green space by nearly 40%.
Transit
The 22-mile (35 km) light rail streetcar component of the BeltLine plan was originally developed in 1999 as the central focus of a master's thesis by
Georgia Tech
The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...
student Ryan Gravel. The vision has expanded to include trails, parks and greenspace, streetscapes, public art, affordable housing, economic development, environmental sustainability, and historic preservation. In Summer 2012, there was a referendum on whether a 1-cent sales tax (
SPLOST
A special-purpose local-option sales tax (SPLOST) is a financing method for funding capital outlay projects in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is an optional 1% sales tax levied by any county for the purpose of funding the building of parks, school ...
) should be implemented to fund traffic and road improvements. If approved, the tax would have funded several streetcar routes along portions of the BeltLine trail and connections to MARTA stations and the Downtown Loop streetcar. The sales tax did not pass.
In 2016, City of Atlanta voters passed the More MARTA sales tax, providing $1.3 billion for the expansion of transit. In 2019, MARTA's Board of Directors adopted the program implementation plan for More MARTA funds, including the expansion of the existing
Atlanta Streetcar tracks to the Atlanta BeltLine corridor via the Streetcar East Extension) and the Streetcar West Extension. Also included in the funding are BeltLine Northeast LRT, BeltLine Southwest LRT, and BeltLine Southeast LRT.
Usage issues
In late January 2009, GDOT and
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
made an unannounced and last-minute filing with the
Surface Transportation Board
The Surface Transportation Board (STB) of the United States is a federal, bipartisan, independent adjudicatory board. The STB was established on January 1, 1996, to assume some of the regulatory functions that had been administered by the Intersta ...
that would effectively block the northeast part of the BeltLine, instead taking it for future
intercity rail
Inter-city rail services are express passenger train services that run services that connect cities over longer distances than commuter or regional trains.
There is no precise definition of inter-city rail; its meaning may vary from country ...
. However, this conflict was later resolved.
Art
"Art on the Atlanta BeltLine" is the city of Atlanta's largest temporary public art exhibition that showcases the work of hundreds of visual artists, performers, and musicians along of the BeltLine corridor. The first exhibition was in 2010. There also is a considerable amount of spontaneous unofficial street art to be found throughout the Beltline ranging from murals to sculptures.
File:Sculptures Atlanta beltline.jpg, Sculptures along the BeltLine
File:Street sculpture on the Beltline.jpg
File:Lucile Avenue Bridge.JPG, "The Highball Artist" by Hadley Breckenridge on the Lucile Avenue Bridge
File:Unique street art found on the beltline.jpg, Street Art
File:Street art on BeltLine - skeleton.JPG, Street Art
File:Street art on BeltLine - skater.JPG, Street Art
Industrial architecture
![Ponce City Market 2015](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/05/Ponce_City_Market_2015.jpg)
Many former industrial buildings alongside the BeltLine, particularly the
Eastside Trail
The Eastside Trail is a walking and biking trail stretching northwest to southeast on the Eastside of Atlanta, part of the BeltLine ring of trails and parks. It is lined with numerous notable industrial buildings adapted into restaurants, shops, a ...
, have been repurposed for residential and retail use, such as
Amsterdam Walk,
Ponce City Market
Ponce City Market is a mixed-use development located in a former Sears catalogue facility in Atlanta, with national and local retail anchors, restaurants, a food hall, boutiques and offices, and residential units. It is located adjacent to th ...
,
Ford Factory Lofts
The Ford Motor Company Assembly Plant at 699 Ponce de Leon Avenue in the Poncey-Highland neighborhood of Atlanta, Georgia was the headquarters of the Ford Motor Company's southeastern US operations from 1915 to 1942. As a result of good sales i ...
, the
Krog Street Market, the
Telephone Factory Lofts, and the
DuPre Excelsior Mill
Located at 695 North Avenue in Atlanta, the Dupre Excelsior Mill (the actual name as of 1911 was "Du Pree Manufacturing Company Excelsior Factory")Insurance maps of Atlanta, Georgia, Volume 2, 1911, Sanborn-Perris Map Co. Limited, http://dlgc ...
and the Pencil Factory and N. Highland Steel in
Inman Park
Inman Park is an intown neighborhood on the east side of Atlanta, Georgia, and its first planned suburb. It was named for Samuel M. Inman.
History
Today's neighborhood of Inman Park includes areas that were originally designated
* Inman Park ...
Village.
Controversy
Due to the massive surge in interest in BeltLine adjacent properties and subsequently increased pricing of such properties, many property developers have purchased land in previously low-income neighborhoods and transformed them into luxury living. After having promised to create 5,600 units of affordable housing, the Atlanta BeltLine Inc., has only funded 785, as of July 2017, with overall BeltLine construction halfway completed, with a 2030 estimated finish. For homes within a half-mile of the BeltLine, home values increased between 17.9 and 26.6% between 2011 and 2015. In 2016, project founder Ryan Gravel resigned from the BeltLine Partnership board of directors. Since Gravel's resignation, there has been several protests to end unregulated
gentrification
Gentrification is the process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more Wealth, affluent residents and businesses. It is a common and controversial topic in urban politics and urban planning, planning. Gentrification ...
caused by expanding the BeltLine that is displacing Atlantans and diminishing the charm of historic neighborhoods in the city. In 2017, BeltLine CEO Paul Morris resigned.
References
Further reading
Thomas Wheatley, "How to make the Beltline happen", ''Creative Loafing'', January 20, 2011– Description of five key BeltLine projects
* Kaid Benfield,, ''The Atlantic'', July 26, 2011 – Assessment of progress on BeltLine development through July 2011
External links
Beltline PartnershipBeltLine Neighbors CoalitionRyan Gravel's Georgia Tech thesis
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beltline
Rail trails in Georgia (U.S. state)
Passenger rail transportation in Georgia (U.S. state)
Hiking trails in Atlanta
Urban planning in Georgia (U.S. state)
Transportation in Atlanta
Transportation in Fulton County, Georgia
Proposed railway lines in the United States
Cycling in Atlanta
Elevated parks
Linear parks
Parks in Atlanta
Bike paths in Georgia (U.S. state)