Fundraising is officially underway for “HUB404 Atlanta GA,” the proposed park that would cap Ga. 400 in central Buckhead.
The nonprofit group organizing the effort is first raising $250,000 to hire staff and start the main capital campaign. Building the park could cost $175 million to $200 million, backers have previously estimated.
Originally conceived by the Buckhead Community Improvement District and now promoted by an independent nonprofit, the park concept is a roughly 9.5 green space and plaza built above Ga. 400 between Peachtree and Lenox roads, and incorporating a redesigned Buckhead MARTA Station.
The name refers to the center of metro Atlanta’s 404 phone area code.
BCID Executive Director Jim Durrett also serves as HUB404’s treasurer. He said the BCID is seeking a $1 million grant from the Georgia Transportation Infrastructure Bank to go towards a $4 million in preliminary engineering work on the park design. The rest of the money would have to be raised from other sources.
Durrett said HUB404 is also reaching out to communities around the city to make sure the future park’s programming would be diverse and that its current support is broad.
“We want this park, because of its connection to MARTA, to be viewed by people in Atlanta to be their park, and not Buckhead’s park,” he said.
For more information, see hub404.org.