The Beltline and Boulevard Heights

Background and History

The Atlanta Beltline is a planned project designed to provide a network of public parks, multi-use trails and transit by re-using 22-miles of historic railroad corridors circling downtown and connecting 45 neighborhoods directly to each other. The project was broken up into ten (10) subareas around the core of the city. In 2007, master planning began by looking at the half mile on either side of the Atlanta BeltLine corridor (covered by Corridor Design) to create a suitable framework to support future population growth and transit ridership. Boulevard Heights is part of Subarea 3 and specifics about the development of the Beltline in this area are found in the Subarea 3 Master Plan or SA 3 MP (here is an additional link to see SA 3 MP Appendices). The Atlanta City Council adopted the SA 3 Master Plan on March 16, 2009.

Trails and Transit

The Beltline path, and any associated transit that gets built, will pass immediately to the north of BOHO, roughly paralleling Hamilton Ave. between Boulevard and United Ave. Renderings of what the Beltline might look like in our area are contained in the Southeast Corridor Design Document. We are very fortunate to have grade-level access to the future Beltline route at 1040 Boulevard and 680 Hamilton Ave.

Areas to the north and west of BOHO are separated from the Beltline corridor by significant elevation differences and will need to rely upon stairs or ramps to access the Beltline route from neighborhood streets. There is a planned transit stop at what will be called the Boulevard Crossing Node located at Boulevard. The SA 3 MP calls for another direct trail connection at a proposed Boulevard Heights Connector Greenway running between Hamilton Ave near Morley Ave to the future Beltline, at 680 Hamilton Ave.

Parks and Greenspace

Phase I of nearby Boulevard Crossing Park opened in the fall of 2011.

More specifics about Boulevard Crossing Park are contained in this SA 3 planning document. There are plans for future Beltline related greenspace in and around BOHO (see page 59-61 of SA 3 MP for details), including:

• Intrenchment Creek Greenway (and connector trail)
• Boulevard Heights Commons Greenway (and connector trail)

Streets and Connectivity

The SA 3 MP discussed several street improvement projects that would directly impact BOHO. These projects are specifically mentioned on pages 25 through 39 of the SA3 MP. They range from minor (adding sidewalks on Edie Ave.) to more major projects (extending Englewood St. through BOHO along a Pershing Ave. route to connect to Avondale).

Interesting to note, as development rolls out throughout southeast Atlanta, other potential street grid changes are proposed or in process, such as extensions of Pershing Ave, Lonetia Ave, and a new connector extending Hamilton Ave to Lester Ave.