Aug 18, 2025 - News

Memorial Drive Greenway project gets second chance

Thomas Wheatley

Map showing Liberty Plaza, Capitol Ave, MLK Jr. Dr., Memorial Dr., with labeled areas like open lawn, professional rake, playground, elevated walk, fountains, and future Atlanta Housing Authority expansion. — The 2016 Memorial Drive Greenway. Rendering: City of Atlanta

City officials are blowing the dust off a bold plan to turn about a half-mile stretch of mostly vacant land between the Georgia State Capitol and Oakland Cemetery into a park.

Driving the news: Atlanta's Department of Parks and Recreation is inviting residents and businesses to help revive the Memorial Drive Greenway project.

Zoom in: The proposed green space, which has been on hold since 2016, would sit on roughly 8.5 acres bordered by Memorial and Martin Luther King Jr. drives.

Planners want to use that vision as a guide for a new round of design, followed by construction on one of the seven blocks owned by the city. Landscape architecture firm Pond and Company is leading the design effort.

Caveat: This reboot does not include capping the Downtown Connector to create a seamless transition from the Capitol to the linear park.

Officials want to focus on "achievable next steps," according to a press release announcing the initiative.

What's next: Keep an eye on the parks and rec department's website for meeting dates and details.

Read the 2016 plan and view a rendering

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Memorial Drive Greenway project gets second chance

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