Vision for the East Atlanta Village

INTRODUCTION

The East Atlanta Village Study is the result of thousands of volunteer hours over almost a year.  This colloborative work included business and property owners, concerned citizens, marketing and transportation consultants, and City of Atlanta staff. The effort was driven by the East Atlanta Village Task Force, a group of representatives from the various interests in the area, that served as the primary liaisons for their respective communities, and whose members worked hand-in-hand with City staff to plan for the area’s future. This sweat equity invested in the East Atlanta Village resulted in countless hours of planning and discussion, as well as two daylong community workshops.  Below is the plan developed throught this process.

VISION

The vision for East Atlanta Village is a neighborhood-oriented commercial node reflecting the diversity of adjacent neighborhoods. The Village includes unique restaurants, unusual retail merchandise, and mixture of residential opportunities. Delightful streets are enlivened with sidewalk cafes, street trees, sculpture, murals, colorful shops, and pedestrian activities. At the historic core of the Village small-scale business are located along Flat Shoals and Glenwood Avenues. Mid-size retailers such as a pharmacy, video store, and bank are located along the east side of Moreland Avenue. Mid-rise residential above shops is encouraged along the west side of Moreland Avenue. Residences are also provided in rehabilitated historic structures and on upper floors throughout the Village. These residences provide a customer base and support a safe and active sidewalk environment.  The critical nature of it all is a pedestrian oriented community that values a safe environment for walking.

What's been accomplished so far?

• Bike racks / artwork on Flatshoals and Glenwood

• New, more visible crosswalks and in-street crosswalk signs

• 8 new street trees on Flat shoals and 2 on McPherson

• 8 new trees along Moreland Ave from I-20 to Glenwood Ave

• shared parking at the Australian Bakery

• graffiti removed by residents and property owners

What's next?

• a new library at McPhereson and Flatshoals will comply with our Neighborhood Commercial Zoning. It will be adjacent to the street like the buildings in the center of the Village - spreading the pedestrian character north to the northern entrance to the Village.

• $800,000 worth of expanded sidewalks, street trees, benches, etc will be constructed on Flatshoals starting this fall. Creating space for outdoor cafes, adding trees where they currently cannot fit and calming traffic on both Flatshoals and Glenwood.

• An additional $1 million has been applied for to expand these streetscape improvements through the rest of the Village.