Update on other development projects in the area

Prepared April 8, 2011 by Patrick. S. Noonan (President, Mason Mill Civic Association)
Disclaimer: I have tried to summarize accurately several recent presentations – some to the March 22, 2011 quarterly public meeting of the Clifton Community Partnership (CCP), some to the March 29, 2011 quarterly meeting of the CCP Advisory Group. I cannot guarantee that I have gotten all the details correct, or that the details will remain as stated here, so I welcome corrections and updates. Treat this as one person’s reconstruction.


What is happening with the Emory Point development on Clifton Road?
I have posted a separate document on the shape and status of this project, which is the largest and most immediate development project taking place in our close vicinity. June 2011 construction start!

What is happening now in Emory Village?
The final phases of the rebuilding and restructuring are underway. The stoplights have been turned off and replaced with a temporary stop sign. The rest of the preparations for the roundabout are underway, as are the remaining reshaping of the sidewalks and public spaces. It’s still a mess, but cars are moving through the construction zone smoothly. It also looks like funding has been found to complete the adjacent public park area (on the Emory side of the finished intersection) during this phase of work.

What is about to happen at Emory, over by the High School?
Construction of the new Health Sciences Research Building on Haygood Road will dramatically change the look and feel of Haygood. In April and May of this year, demolition of the old Turman residence halls will begin (next to Druid Hills High School), and September will see the start of an 18-24 month construction project. This new project, a partnership with Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, will be physically linked with the relatively new pediatrics building by a two-story high, marble-clad archway over Haygood. (Plans are still in the works for a future widening and realignment of Haygood.) The new building will be partly a mix of relocated functions, but there will be some next expansion of the workforce. No new parking will be built on this site; employees at this building are expected to park at the Clairmont Campus garage and take the existing shuttle service across.

What is about to happen at Emory’s Briarcliff Campus (the former state mental health facility)?
Eight cottages in the back part of the property have been boarded up and have not been in use since the donation of the property to Emory. They have fallen into disrepair, and “bad activity” has become routine there – drug arrests and such. The presence of asbestos and the site’s historic status made the simplest solution – tearing them down – more complicated. However, Emory now has received permission to demolish them under careful asbestos-controlling conditions. The first three are slated for removal summer 2011, the rest “ASAP” thereafter.

Anything going on up at Sage Hill?
According to some people in the know, “transit is coming.” Although funding depends on the 2012 referendum (which would add 1% sales tax throughout Metro Atlanta), and the final list of projects that the regional planning organizations puts forward, there is confidence that a rail spur from Lindbergh to Sage Hill and on to Emory will be developed. This will take years, but we should expect Sage Hill to change in anticipation of this transit link, should it be approved.

Closer to present day: Over the next year or two, Atlanta will be digging a sewage storage and pumping facility alongside PeachTree Creek (just west of Briarcliff, between the creek and Kay Lane) in order to install an enormous buffer to protect the creek from sewage overflows. The 300-400’ long storage “cavern” will lie 200 feet below grade and have 2 million gallon capacity. Construction is slated to begin May 2012.

Plans proceed for the development of Zonolite/Nickel Bottom park, a natural park and preserve along Peachtree Creek. The EPA has finished its study of hazardous wastes in the area and concluded that only a small area behind a former industrial site on Zonolite requires full soil remediation (3-4 feet of soil removed and replaced).

What is happening in neighborhoods further west?
On Saturday, May 7 (8am-1pm), the Lindbergh-Lavista Neighborhood Coalition is hosting their Spring Planning Workshop to re-envision development in and around the intersection of Cheshire Bridge Road and Lindbergh-Lavista.

How can I keep on top of various developments in the area?
The Clifton Community Partnership tries to keep us informed using its web site and newsletters. Bookmark and visit their site, and make sure you’re on their e-news distribution list.