Community Corner

Midtown Alliance Public Space Projects Update

Editor's Note: Midtown Alliance is a non-profit membership organization and a coalition of leading business and community leaders – united in its commitment to Midtown as a premiere destination for commerce, culture, education and living. Governed by a 71-member board of the district's top private sector leaders, its mission is to improve and sustain the quality of life for those who live, work and play here. It has a master plan – Blueprint Midtown – and in partnership with the Midtown Improvement District, Midtown Alliance provides a construction update on its current Public Space Projects each month. Courtesy of Midtown Alliance, here is the December update posted last week.

UNDER CONSTRUCTION:

Peachtree Overhead Utility Burial - After being hosted in Downtown for several decades, the 33rd Annual Children's Christmas Parade will take place in Midtown for the first time this Saturday, December 7th. In anticipation of the event, we are spearheading an effort to bury all currently-overhead utility lines crossing Peachtree Street. Our team has completed work at 14th and will finish 5th and 16th Streets this week.

Pershing Point Park Renovation - The greenspace at the junction of Peachtree and West Peachtree Streets is undergoing a makeover.  Work includes restoration of the historic World War I monument, landscape and hardscape beautification, and better lighting for safety. Improvements began in early 2013 with tree pruning/removal and repairs to lighting and irrigation. Hardscape demolition started last week to initiate the 4-month monument re-build. Further pruning and planting enhancements, walkway repairs, and installation of new lighting will follow completion of the monument work.

Peachtree Streetscape: Southern End - This project began in May and will extend the Peachtree Streetscape "pallette" to the southern end of Midtown.  Blocks between 3rd and Pine Streets will be upgraded with new sidewalks, pavers, curbing, trees, and pedestrian lights as needed. Select portions of overhead utility lines will also be relocated underground. Currently, utility work is being completed from 3rd Street to Ponce de Leon Ave. Design is underway for the next phase of improvements from Ponce to Pine.

Find out what's happening in Midtownwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Peachtree Streetscape: Northern End - Now in its final phases, this project extends Peachtree streetscaping to the northern end of Midtown between Peachtree Circle and the I-85 Bridge. Utility authorities will soon "light up" the newly installed pedestrian and roadway lighting. Construction crews will remove remaining utility poles at the Peachtree Street/Peachtree Circle intersection and tackle final punch list items.

10th Streetscape - This project includes installation of new sidewalks, street trees, pedestrian lighting, landscaped medians and ADA upgrades between Williams Street and Piedmont Avenue. Other improvements include a new signalized mid-block pedestrian crossing at the Midtown MARTA Station as well as burial of overhead power lines and poles between Peachtree and Juniper Streets. Construction crews are finishing new granite curb and sidewalks on the north side of 10th between Juniper and Piedmont. Permanent roadway striping will soon be completed, and new colored/thermoplastic crosswalks will be installed at the Peachtree Street intersection.

Find out what's happening in Midtownwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

South Midtown Pedestrian and Circulation Improvements - This $4 million effort provides a wide range of improvements along North Avenue and Ponce de Leon Avenue including circulation improvements, streetscape upgrades, installation of key "gateway" features and creation of new public spaces such as Ponce Triangle near the Fox Theater. Final phases included new colored/thermoplastic crosswalks at Peachtree intersections with Ponce and North. Crews recently removed overhead utility lines and associated poles at Peachtree and Ponce and will complete final punch list items.

Tree Well Fencing and Planting - Midtown's Tree Well Adoption Program is well underway, with 108 tree wells adopted to-date! The first two phases of fencing has been installed around 41 tree wells, along with beautiful low-water-use perennial plants. See the newly fenced and planted tree wells along Peachtree Street between Peachtree Place and 11th Street. A few more blocks of tree wells will be fenced and planted by the end of the year.

Fall Landscape Installation - Beautiful fall annuals were planted along streets, in medians, and in parks and plazas throughout the District in October.  Replacement shrubs, perennials, and trees will be planted where needed over the next two months.

RECENTLY COMPLETED:

Rockspinner and Pocket Park (at 10th/Peachtree) - Through a collaboration with Dewberry Capital, we created a temporary “pocket park” at the corner of 10th and Peachtree Streets earlier this year. The new space includes a multi-use lawn, badminton net, seating areas, pedestrian paths, and water-wise plantings designed in partnership with the Atlanta Botanical Garden. On November 14th, Rockspinner, a large piece of kinetic art (a 22,000 pound boulder) was installed in the park. Over the next 2 weeks, crews will complete paving and lighting around Rockspinner.

Bicycle Racks - The first installation of Midtown's "branded" bike racks was completed in September. Enjoy 30 new spots throughout the District to park your bike! Ride on friends!

10th Street Cycle Track - Successful completion of the Atlanta BeltLine Eastside Trail increased the already-high demand for bicycle facilities in Midtown. As a result, we partnered with the City of Atlanta and the PATH Foundation to implement Phase 1 of a dedicated two-way "cycle track" on 10th Street along Piedmont Park, between Monroe Drive and Charles Allen Drive.  The facility connects cyclists between Midtown's core and the BeltLine, and anticipates future cycle routes on Juniper Street and Piedmont Ave.

District-Wide Tree Replacement Program – We installed over 50 new street trees in March 2013 in conjunction with our seasonal effort to identify diseased, dying and missing street trees and replace them with new, healthy, urban-tolerant street trees throughout the entire Midtown Improvement District. Inventory is underway in preparation for the next District-wide street tree planting, scheduled for late 2013/early 2014.


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