Talk of the Town - Build it right June 19 2002

Suburban kids don't care about Reynoldstown. They don't even know where Reynoldstown is. And they definitely aren't worried about revitalizing a neighborhood originally founded by freed slaves.

Wrong.

Professor Bill Carpenter and a crew of architecture students from Southern Polytechnic State University in Marietta recently inaugurated Gateway Park, a new parcel of green space between Reynoldstown and neighboring Little Five Points.

Carpenter is a student of Sam Mockbee, the star architect who began a program in rural Alabama for students to design and build structures to aid in rejuvenating struggling communities. Carpenter created the Urban Design-Build Studio, which, for the past nine years, has been working with Reynoldstown residents to develop projects to help cultivate a sense of place.

Under Carpenter's guidance, 14 students worked with neighborhood planners, residents and businesses like Beers Construction to create a design that would inspire as well as please. The land on which the park rests was originally owned by MARTA. The students wrote to officials requesting the land (valued at approximately $400,000) and, surprisingly, it was donated for the project. The hard work paid off in a steel-and-concrete structure that's more minimalist sculpture than anything else. It mirrors the sunburst found in the neighborhood's logo, which symbolizes excitement and renewal. The hope is that the structure also will be the location of a local farmers' market on Saturday mornings.

"The students learned how hard it was to build something," says Carpenter. "It's the most ambitious project that we've undertaken in the neighborhood, and we had lots of help to make it happen."

Carpenter's not done, though. Atlanta Gas Light's location across the street soon will be converted to something new. He hopes they can get the opposing corner and finish their "gateway" concept.

"We're going to do something really cool," he says.

LOCATION: Reynoldstown is located west of Moreland Avenue, between the MARTA rail line and I-20.

SCHOOLS: City of Atlanta public schools: C.D. Hubert Elementary, Coan Middle and Southside High schools

AMENITIES: The shops and restaurants of Little Five Points are close by, as is access to the Inman Park/Reynoldstown MARTA station.

PERKS: The neighborhood's annual Wheel Barrow Festival takes place in July, and features three days of music, dancing, parades and entertainment.

NOTABLE: Several projects have been spearheaded by the Urban Design-Build Studio — including Memorial Park, which commemorates those residents who've died in the neighborhood, and Gateway Park.