Brookhaven’s Lynwood Park will be getting improved basketball courts and updates to the recreation center this summer thanks to a donation from the Atlanta Hawks Foundation, a nonprofit arm of the NBA team that relocated its practice facility to the city two years ago.
The Brookhaven City Council approved the donation valued at $165,000 at its July 23 meeting. State Farm is teaming up with the Atlanta Hawks Foundation to make the donation to Lynwood Park, located at 3360 Osborne Road, as part of the State Farm Neighborhood of Good and the Atlanta Hawks Court and Community Program.
Lynwood Park’s existing basketball courts – two outside and one inside the recreation center – will be painted red, include the Atlanta Hawks and State Farm logos at center court, a city of Brookhaven logo and the word “Lynwood” at the free-throw lines, according to an illustration.
Renovations at Lynwood Park’s recreation center are also part of the donation and will include renovating a meeting room with new furnishings and technology for a classroom and gaming room.
“Is there anyone against this?” asked Mayor John Ernst to chuckles from council members and some in the audience. The vote was 3-0 with Councilmember Joe Gebbia absent.
“I just want to thank the Hawks,” Councilmember Linley Jones said. Her district includes Lynwood Park.
As part of the donation, the city agreed to use money from the general fund for maintenance and upkeep of the donation.
A community celebration with the Atlanta Hawks to unveil the new courts and improvements will also be held once the projects are finished.
The Atlanta Hawks moved its state-of-the-art practice facility to Brookhaven’s Executive Park two years ago in a partnership with Emory Healthcare.
The Emory/Hawks partnership was a $50 million deal for the land purchase and building construction with $14 million being covered by Emory University and the Hawks providing $36 million. Emory University is providing a ground lease to the Hawks for the practice facility.
To secure the deal to have the Hawks and Emory locate the facility in Brookhaven, the city’s Development Authority approved a $36 million tax abatement to the Hawks over 15 years.
The council also voted July 23 to approve a $213,960 contract with New Imaging Roofing to replace the roof at the Lynwood Park recreation center. Money for this project is coming from the 2019 capital improvement plan budget.