A park is re-born in Peoplestown

• http://clatl.com/atlanta/ImageArchives?by=1223504
• Silver tree requires constant watering.

Saturday marked the grand re-opening of in the Peoplestown neighborhood of south central Atlanta! So what, you say? Well, this isn’t just any old park — it’s an official BeltLine park! — partly funded through the Atlanta BeltLine TAD and a donation from the Atlanta BeltLine Partnership Capital Campaign. The rest of the funding came from city park bonds and the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation.

And, frankly, I wasn’t expecting much for an inner-city park, but it’s really extra nice, with meticulous landscaping featuring miniature hills formed from mulch and rows of flowering plants; colorful playscapes; and, as a centerpiece, a splashpad with an interactive water sculpture (see photo) designed by local artist Robert Witherspoon. The park is also noteworthy for a prominent row of solar panels that overhang and shade the main walkway. From the press release:

D.H. Stanton Park will be the first energy-cost neutral park in the City of Atlanta, and among the first in the country, through the installation of photovoltaic solar panels that act as a shade structure at one of the park’s entrances.

Now, frankly, the other thing that surprised me about the project is that it’s hidden away on a side street on the south end of Peoplestown, a fairly rough neighborhood that would not be an obvious candidate for getting something this nice.