Historic Fourth Ward Park Vying for Excellence Award

OLD FOURTH WARD — Historic Fourth Ward Park, which has received national recognition as a model for how municipalities could address stormwater and drainage issues, is a contender for the Urban Land Institute Atlanta's 2013 Awards for Excellence.

The award winners, which are to be announced in Sept. 12 at a ceremony at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre, are being highlighted and recognized for their approaches to land use.

Among the other contenders is the Retreat at Edgewood in the Edgewood neighborhood.

The awards underscore the Urban Land Institute's core mission of championing the marriage of real estate and land use policy to create entities that serve the community but also aesthetically pleasing.

Historic Fourth Ward Park, a 17.6-acre swath of greenspace that opened in 2011, was designed to address the stormwater issues in the area bounded roughly bounded by North Avenue, Freedom Parkway and Glen Iris Drive.

"We look for examples of land use that is catalytic — that changes the character and hopefully improves the area," Jeff DuFresne, Urban Land Institute's executive director, told East Atlanta Patch.

"That 17-acre park that was barren and contaminated. They really created a place that is no longer barren but vibrant."

Rather than run funnel the water underground, the idea as hammered out by the Old Fourth Ward, city parks and public works officials and Atlanta City Councilman Kwanza Hall, called for incorporating it into a public space.

"It was an urban area that had water and rather than disguise it, use it as an asset," DuFresne said.

It also takes energy usage into account and with solar panels to power the electricity to light the park and some of that energy is sold back to Georgia Power Co., similar to the setup at D.H. Stanton Park in Peoplestown.

“It’s cost neutral from an energy usage," DuFresne said. "As the world continues to grow, you’ve got to look for ways to conserve. It’s a public space that reduces energy; it’s very, very forward thinking.

"This model can definitely be replicated."