Key part of Atlanta's Midtown Art Walk is ready to break ground

In the coming weeks, expect jackhammers and dulcet tones of construction machinery as crews begin work on an important phase of the proposed Midtown Art Walk.

• The five-block, half-mile pedestrian promenade and linear park will link the Midtown and Arts Center MARTA stations and will feature public art, colorful crosswalks, and new lighting, says the Midtown Alliance, the nonprofit leading the project.

Why it matters: Midtown is one of Atlanta’s fastest-changing and most dynamic neighborhoods, and residents, workers, visitors and businesses are eager for better streetscapes, bike lanes and transit connections.

• More than 95% of the 5,000 people who responded to the alliance's survey in 2019 "indicated that small parks strategically located throughout the district are a top priority," the group says.

Our thought bubble: Despite already having some of the most walkable blocks in Atlanta, new ways to approach housing, offices, parks and transit are a net positive.

Details: The upcoming $4.5 million phase stretches one block along Peachtree Walk between 10th and 11th streets, just north of the Midtown MARTA station, and will set the tone for the rest of the promenade, the nonprofit says. Work is scheduled to be finished next year.

The promenade will incorporate public and private property — in some cases, by being incorporated into an overall development. And, yes, the alliance says, the art installations will provide “Instagramable moments.”

• The arts component could kick off by 2023, according to the alliance’s schedule, and will include large-scale installations, projections, regular performances and other works.

What’s next: The next phase one block north will begin design development this year, the alliance says, and be ready to start construction in 2023.

• Streetscape improvements included in the Art Walk’s overall vision have already been completed at recently opened 1105 West Peachtree and 13th and 14th streets, where the AC/Moxy Hotel features a mural by Daniel Monteavaro.

The timing of the project’s final phase between 14th and 15th streets hinges on whatever happens to the land where developers years ago pitched building No. 2 Opus Place, which was billed as Midtown's tallest residential skyscraper.