Images: Grand vision for Piedmont Park’s future officially unveiled

Josh Green

Thu, 04/24/2025 – 15:43

If you adore Atlanta’s marquee greenspace today, just imagine if—or when—all of this comes to fruition.

Following more than 30 public engagement events, 1,500 surveys from Atlantans, and extensive fundraising efforts that netted more than $3 million, Piedmont Park’s first Comprehensive Plan in 25 years was officially uncloaked during a landmark event today.

More than 500 guests, stakeholders, and park supporters gathered for The Piedmont Park Conservancy’s 28th Annual Landmark Luncheon—an event that took in another $500,000 in contributions. Coined “The Big Reveal,” the unveiling of the comprehensive plan outlined how Atlanta’s most-visited park could expand and evolve in coming years, in terms of functionality, access, and some truly unique features.

The plan, as designed by Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects, calls for a major park expansion at Piedmont Avenue and Monroe Drive, a restored Lake Clara Meer with sweeping boardwalks, a nature-based feature called the Clear Creek Walk, and a redesigned Active Oval. (A smaller feature that’s among our personal favorites: the Meadow Overlook with a picnic shelter and concessions, overlooking downtown and Midtown skylines near Park Tavern.)

Doug Widener, Piedmont Park Conservancy president and CEO, called the plan “the most ambitious roadmap we’ve seen in decades” in an announcement.

Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects; courtesy, Piedmont Park Conservancy

“If fundraising goals are achieved,” notes the report, “the first phase of implementation is expected to start in 2027 with completion in 2029.”

The full Comprehensive Plan—a bona fide utopia for urban-planning wonks—is here. We’ve cherrypicked some detailed highlights below, with more images in the gallery above.

Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects; courtesy, Piedmont Park Conservancy

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Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects; courtesy, Piedmont Park Conservancy

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Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects; courtesy, Piedmont Park Conservancy

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Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects; courtesy, Piedmont Park Conservancy

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Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects; courtesy, Piedmont Park Conservancy

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Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects; courtesy, Piedmont Park Conservancy

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Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects; courtesy, Piedmont Park Conservancy

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Images: Grand vision for Piedmont Park’s future officially unveiled

Josh Green

Thu, 04/24/2025 – 15:43

If you adore Atlanta’s marquee greenspace today, just imagine if—or when—all of this comes to fruition. Following more than 30 public engagement events, 1,500 surveys from Atlantans, and extensive fundraising efforts that netted more than $3 million, Piedmont Park’s first Comprehensive Plan in 25 years was officially uncloaked during a landmark event today. More than 500 guests, stakeholders, and park supporters gathered for The Piedmont Park Conservancy’s 28th Annual Landmark Luncheon—an event that took in another $500,000 in contributions. Coined “The Big Reveal,” the unveiling of the comprehensive plan outlined how Atlanta’s most-visited park could expand and evolve in coming years, in terms of functionality, access, and some truly unique features. The plan, as designed by Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects, calls for a major park expansion at Piedmont Avenue and Monroe Drive, a restored Lake Clara Meer with sweeping boardwalks, a nature-based feature called the Clear Creek Walk, and a redesigned Active Oval. (A smaller feature that’s among our personal favorites: the Meadow Overlook with a picnic shelter and concessions, overlooking downtown and Midtown skylines near Park Tavern.) Doug Widener, Piedmont Park Conservancy president and CEO, called the plan “the most ambitious roadmap we’ve seen in decades” in an announcement.

Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects; courtesy, Piedmont Park Conservancy

Funding for actually implementing the grand vision is pending, but according to architects, the initial phase of design and construction will likely be at The Commons—that is, the expansion of the northern edge of the site, where Piedmont Avenue and Monroe Drive meet—and along Clear Creek. “If fundraising goals are achieved,” notes the report, “the first phase of implementation is expected to start in 2027 with completion in 2029.”The full Comprehensive Plan—a bona fide utopia for urban-planning wonks—is here. We’ve cherrypicked some detailed highlights below, with more images in the gallery above.

Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects; courtesy, Piedmont Park Conservancy

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Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects; courtesy, Piedmont Park Conservancy

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Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects; courtesy, Piedmont Park Conservancy

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Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects; courtesy, Piedmont Park Conservancy

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Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects; courtesy, Piedmont Park Conservancy

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Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects; courtesy, Piedmont Park Conservancy

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