Timeline
In spring 2003 Bill
Eisenhauer, a storm water activist, convened a group to discuss
storm water issues in Old Fourth Ward, particularly in the Clear
Creek basin south of City Hall East. A small group of concerned
citizens participated, and studied the question of how this could
be the catalyst for transforming the area to a higher-density,
higher-quality, more sustainable urban environment. The vision
that evolved was not a singular solution focused on storm water;
it was the total impact on quality of life for the surrounding
neighborhood.
From this vision, Historic
Fourth Ward Park was conceived. By fall of 2003, a concept plan
was created to show to potential stakeholders. The rendering illustrated
a large urban greenspace with a sustainable storm water detention
pond as its central amenity, surrounded aesthetically by medium
and high density residential development.
The proposed park would
not only address the stormwater problem and help relieve the dire
need for greenspace in the O4W, it would serve as a hub linking
the O4W with Midtown, Downtown, Virginia Highland, Poncey-Highland,
Inman Park and the BeltLine.
Legal
Information
Ongoing cooperation
led to the creation of a non-profit support arm for the new Park,
the Historic Fourth Ward Park Conservancy. Its mission is to enhance
security and maintenance, plan events and help expand the Park,
toward a first-in-class public greenspace.
Legal documentation
was filed, and the group obtained its official 501-(c)3 status
in 2008.
Phase One, the stormwater
detention pond project, is being financed by the Department of
Watershed Management. With a significant interagency effort, the
Groundbreaking Ceremony for the stormwater pond by the Department
of Watershed Management took place on October 15, 2008. The ceremony
involved the following list of players:
- Mayor Shirley Franklin
- Atlanta City Council
- Department of Watershed
Management
- Department of Parks,
Recreation and Cultural Affairs
- Trust for Public
Land - Robert W. Woodruff Foundation
- Park Area Coalition
- Friends of Historic Fourth Ward Park
- Historic Fourth
Ward Park Conservancy
- NPU M - Fourth Ward
Alliance o Park Pride
- Atlanta BeltLine
Inc. - BeltLine Partnership
- Trees Atlanta -
PATH Foundation
- Fulton County Board
of Commissioners
Thus, interagency cooperation
and collaboration has been the cornerstone of Historic Fourth
Ward Park from its very first glimmerings. The original citizens'
group from 2003 has now expanded to include the H4WP Conservancy.
The H4WP Conservancy,
with the PAC, continues to work in cooperation with the City of
Atlanta Parks and Recreation Department, the Atlanta BeltLine,
the BeltLine Partnership, and the Department of Watershed Management
to plan, fund, build and enhance Historic Fourth Ward Park.
In 2008, Atlanta City
Councilmember Kwanza Hall introduced legislation naming Historic
Fourth Ward Park, and the Atlanta City Council adopted the name.