Brookhaven is trying to shore up finances for a massive greenway expansion project.
The city is applying for a federal grant to fund the majority of the $24.5 million needed to complete the second phase of the Peachtree Creek Greenway. The multi-use path currently spans one mile from North Druid Hills Road to Briarwood Road, but the expansion with install new concrete south to the city’s border with Atlanta.
On April 12, the Brookhaven City Council unanimously approved a resolution to allow city staff to apply to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) grant program. If approved, the grant would finance $19.08 million for the project, while the city would have to commit the remaining $5.4 million.
“The commitment on this is quite sizable, but obviously we don’t have to pay it until we get the grant,” City Manager Christian Sigman said during the April 12 meeting. “We will know before the council decides on the SPLOST II allocations in summer of 2023 if we have this grant or not.”
The greenway, which opened its first mile in December 2019 while using only local funds, is expected to connect to the Atlanta Beltline, Path 400 and Southfork Conservancy trails when phase two of construction is finished. A third phase would extend the path north through Chamblee, unincorporated DeKalb County and Doraville.
The Atlanta Regional Commission has already approved $2.52 million for the greenway’s phase two expansion, which doesn’t affect the city’s larger grant application, according to Brookhaven’s Director of Strategic Partnerships Patty Hansen.
If the grant is approved, Hansen estimated phase two of the greenway would be finished by February 2027. The entire project should be completed by 2030.
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