The city of Brookhaven will apply for an infrastructure grant to help fund Phase Two of the Peachtree Creek Greenway project.
The Brookhaven City Council approved the grant application during its Tuesday meeting. The model mile of the Peachtree Creek Greenway opened in December of 2019, and the entire greenway is envisioned as a 12-mile regional multi-use trail that would eventually connect Atlanta, Brookhaven, Chamblee and unincorporated DeKalb County past Mercer University. The city adopted the Peachtree Creek Greenway Master Plan, which includes three phases of building, in 2016.
The Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) Grant Program is part of the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and is a program for transportation projects.
“Staff has been directed to apply to any appropriate funding opportunities in order to maximize tax payer dollars,” said Director of Strategic Partnerships Patty Hansen. “With all of the projects that the city of Brookhaven has in our docket, we had one that staff reviewed and felt really fit the metrics for this program; that is Peachtree Creek Greenway, Phase Two.”
According to Hansen, the total cost of Phase Two is an estimated $27 million. The Atlanta Regional Commission, the city’s metro planning agency, has allocated $2.52 million of federal funding towards the project, and Hansen asked the city to reaffirm their monetary commitment if the grant is approved.
“We are requesting the council reaffirm their commitment to a 20% match for the Peachtree Green Greenway buildout,” Hansen said. “That is now at $5.4 million in remaining costs.”
If the RAISE grant application is approved, the grant would take care of the remaining costs, which would be $19.08 million. City Manager Christian Sigman said the city would only be committing to that match if the grant effort succeeds.
“The commitment on this is quite sizable, but obviously we don’t have to pay it until we get the grant,” Sigman said. “We will know before the council decides on the SPLOST II allocations in summer of 2023 if we have this grant or not. We envision that if we do get the grant, we would put that match in the SPLOST II package for your consideration next June of 2023.”
The city completed Phase One of the greenway using local funds. Phase One runs from North Druid Hills Road to Briarwood Road, Phase Two will run from North Druid Hills Road to the Atlanta city limit, and Phase Three will run from Briarwood Road to the Chamblee city limit.
Hansen said if the grant is approved, the buildout for Phase Two would be expected to be finished by February 2027. The entire project is committed to be finished by 2030.