Friends of Waterworks Greenspace has received a $100,000 Grant from Park Pride to amenitize The Hill at Waterworks, the newest publicly accessible greenspace on the Atlanta Waterworks property. The Friends of Waterworks have been working hand-in-hand with the Department of Watershed Management and the Upper Westside CID since 2018 to create public space in this corner of northwest Atlanta with no City parks.
For the last 25 years Atlanta’s reservoirs have been fenced-off from the public, a safety decision the City made in preparation for the 1996 Atlanta Olympic games. Prior to the fences being installed, the reservoirs were a community gathering space. Schools held track meets on the reservoirs’ banks and The Lodge hosted many high school proms.
“Friends of Waterworks is grateful to Park Pride for seeing the importance in investing to reopen Waterworks land to the community,” said Friends of Waterworks co-chair Chris LeCraw. “Our first Grant created a one-of-a-kind water-treatment-themed learning landscape and amphitheater at the Waterworks Greenspace, this Legacy Grant will help us bring a trail, pavilion with picnic seating, and nature-viewing area to The Hill.”
“The Friends of Waterworks has demonstrated their commitment to providing access to nature and greenspace to the community through partnerships and fundraising and Park Pride is proud to support their efforts,” Kayla Altland, Director of Grantmaking and Fiscal Sponsorship at Park Pride.
The Hill at Waterworks received its name for being one of the highest points in the City of Atlanta at just over 1,000 feet in elevation. It is a two-acre greenspace with over 30 mature trees, unparalleled views of the eastern Hemphill Reservoir and an incredible backdrop of the Buckhead, Midtown and Downtown skylines.
“There’s been such an outpouring of support from the community to continue to reopen the pristine greenspace around the Waterworks reservoirs,” said Elizabeth Hollister, Executive Director of the Upper Westside Improvement District. “NPUs D and E jointly applied for a grant from the City to fund a sculpture by local artist and fabricator Andrew Crawford.” The interactive installation of five foot-tall spinning metal letters spelling “The Hill” was completed in October of 2022.
The Friends of Waterworks and the Upper Westside CID look forward to this renewed opportunity to work with Park Pride to enhance the natural beauty of the space and plant new native and nectiferous plants to bolster the birds and biodiversity of The Hill.
You can stay tuned to the project’s progress by visiting the Atlanta Waterworks Park Facebook page for updates.
About Park Pride
Park Pride engages more than 100 Friends of the Park groups across the City of Atlanta, unincorporated DeKalb County, and Brookhaven. Park Pride’s Grantmaking Program awards funding to community groups seeking to revitalize their neighborhood greenspaces. It was established with support from the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation and The Home Depot Foundation, with additional funders including Georgia Power, the City of Atlanta, and others joining more recently.
About Upper Westside Improvement District
The Upper Westside Improvement District is a Community Improvement District (CID), a special governmental entity formed by local commercial property owners. The city of Atlanta approved the CID in 2016. The district stretches along Howell Mill Road from Collier Road south to Marietta Street and includes Chattahoochee Avenue, Ellsworth Industrial Boulevard, Huff Road, and portions of West Marietta Street and Joseph E. Lowery Boulevard. Property owners in the CID fund operations and invest in infrastructure improvements, beautification and public safety. For more information, visit upperwestsideatl.org.
