An elaborate redesign of Sandy Springs’ namesake spring, originally planned to be finished in early 2018, has been delayed a year by permitting issues.
The historic spring on Heritage Green, a park between Blue Stone Road and Sandy Springs Circle, is currently hidden under a metal grate and wooden pavilion. The new design, commissioned by Heritage Sandy Springs and unveiled in February, would let the spring bubble up as a small, glass-enclosed fountain beneath an abstract, mirror-roofed canopy.
Officials with Heritage, a nonprofit cultural organization, had planned to begin construction late this year. But altering the spring and its stream requires city, state and federal permitting that is proving more complex and time-consuming than expected, according to Heritage Executive Director Carol Thompson.
“Bottom line, we won’t be building it this winter,” she said, and they can’t build it next spring and summer, either, due to popular wedding rentals.
That means it likely will take at least another year before the historic waters get to spring afresh.
Heritage has raised about half of the project’s $350,000 budget, all privately funded, Thompson said.
City and Heritage officials have met twice this year about the city-level stream buffer zoning variance that is required, and the city is now awaiting an application, said city spokesperson Sharon Kraun.