© A rendering of the proposed public storage facility on Monroe Drive near 10th Street near the BeltLine in Atlanta . (Atlanta Botanical Garden)Plans to build a public self-storage facility along the Atlanta Beltway in the Virginia Highlands as part of a land swap for an expansion of the Atlanta Botanical Garden have drawn heavy criticism from a review committee.
Members of the Atlanta BeltLine Design Review Committee (DRC) at a Jan. 18 meeting rejected the Garden's request for public parking on Monroe Drive near 10th Street, near the BeltLine and its connector. building in Piedmont Park.
DRC City Planner Stephen Cowby said the self-storage building "is not on or near the belt line."
"I think the BeltLine was created as a pedestrian-friendly corridor ... to get people out of their cars, connect to neighborhoods, walk the streets, and rediscover our city's pedestrian past." great," Koubi said. .
RDC members said a commercial, residential or other mixed-use project would be more appropriate for the BeltLine-adjacent property between Canuga Street and College Avenue, home to the freestanding furniture store Cantoni.
© Provided by Rough Draft Atlanta . A cyclist passes the former Cantoni store near Atlanta's Beltline and Piedmont Park, where the Atlanta Botanical Garden plans to build a self-service warehouse. (Diana Bagby)"I think ... having something other than mixed use in this part of town ... seems like a missed opportunity," said architect and RDC member Nazir Kuti.
Cutty said he understood the site's zoning allowed for a self-service warehouse, but it was "disappointing for those who were interested in the urban environment, the urban fabric."
The garden acquired the property at 1011 Monroe Drive and 597 Cooledge Avenue through a land swap with Public Storage. The self-storage giant has a building at 268 Westminster Drive and Piedmont Avenue, also along the Atlanta BeltLine. The site is the only property where the garden can extend to the north.
After years of negotiations, Public Storage said the park could demolish the existing building and use the land to expand. In exchange, the garden will build a new self-service building to replace the Westminster building in Monroe, garden attorney Kathryn Zickert said. The nearly $40 million land swap will add nearly seven acres of green space to the park. The extension will include a connection to the BeltLine near Ansley Mall and at Piedmont Park.
"The extension is critical to long-term plans for the Garden, and [by] allowing this section to be added to the Garden, we will provide a direct connection between the BeltLine and the Garden for the first time," Zickert said. , he said.
RDC architect David M. Hamilton said he is a member of the Atlanta Botanical Garden and thinks it "is one of the best things about Atlanta."
"I'm very excited about your expansion along the BeltLine," he said. "It is a shame that you contracted the Public Warehouse to build a warehouse in the middle of a neighborhood. I don't think that's a particularly appropriate use."
Post-BeltLine Council Criticizes Atlanta Botanical Garden's Plans to Build Freestanding Warehouses
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