Before/after: Collaboration creates upgraded park in Southwest ATL

Josh Green

Tue, 11/05/2024 – 15:23

A recent greenspace upgrade project in Southwest Atlanta speaks to the importance of local parks and the power of collaboration, according to those who helped make it happen.

Ashview Heights Community Association and City of Atlanta officials hosted a ribbon-cutting celebration last month to mark key improvements at Dean Rusk Park, a public greenspace a couple of blocks west of Spelman College and other Atlanta University Center campuses.

The upgrades were made possible by a $300,000 grant from Park Pride Atlanta, which collaborated with neighborhood leadership and city officials to implement changes the community sought.

Atlanta City Council member Jason Dozier, whose district includes Dean Rusk Park, said the park’s reopening in October marked a significant milestone for the community.

“This park is not just a space,” said Dozier in an announcement, “it’s a vital resource for our families, a place for connection, and a testament to what we can achieve together.”

Damage around the communal water feature before. Courtesy of Ashview Heights Community Association

Courtesy of Ashview Heights Community Association

The most prominent changes at the park include a new pavilion with a stone grilling station, outdoor fitness equipment, and a natural stone staircase that connects an upper level to a path around a water retention pond, which neighbors lovingly call the Ashview Heights “lake,” according to Caroline Anderson, Ashview Heights Community Association secretary.

At a different ribbon-cutting in 2021, that water feature was declared the first “smart pond” in the City of Atlanta, after a $1.9-million Department of Watershed Management project had implemented a monitoring system to manage water depth, increased the pond’s storage capacity, and built in green infrastructure, including runoff-capturing rain gardens.

The Dean Rusk detention pond was originally built in 2003 to manage stormwater runoff and solve flooding issues in Ashview Heights and Booker T. Washington neighborhoods.

Before: Dean Rusk Park’s passive greenspace prior to recent upgrades. Courtesy of Ashview Heights Community Association

The revised greenspace today. Courtesy of Ashview Heights Community Association

Funding for the recent park improvements came from $2.5 million in grants Park Pride announced in early 2023 for 25 Atlanta communities—the largest grant allocation in the agency’s 35-year history.

In the gallery above, find a closer look at where things started with Dean Rusk Park—and where they stand today.

The upgraded greenspace’s 350 Peeples St. location west of downtown. Google Maps