MABLETON — Across the Chattahoochee River from Fulton County Airport lies a scrub-covered lot, nearly nine acres in size, at the corner of Mableton Parkway and Discovery Boulevard.
Across the street are dueling gas stations — a QuikTrip and a RaceTrac. Nearby properties are mostly warehouses and industrial businesses. But an ambitious project may one day change the face of the area.
In early March, the lot was acquired by the Trust for Public Land, a national nonprofit which preserves land and builds parks. It will eventually serve as the first of 25 regional trailheads in a massive, long-term effort to transform metro Atlanta’s relationship with the river — the Chattahoochee Riverlands project.
The project envisions a continuous series of parks and trails connecting a 100-mile stretch of the Chattahoochee, from Lake Lanier’s Buford Dam to Newnan.
“We look upon this project for metro Atlanta to be what the Atlanta Beltline was for the city of Atlanta,” said George Dusenbury, the Georgia director for Trust for Public Land. “It will be the defining public space for the region. It will knit together 19 cities and seven counties.”
A 2.7-mile stretch in south Cobb is planned as the first section of the project, and will run through Discovery Park at the River Line.
In time, officials hope that the trail will serve as a powerful economic development tool for south Cobb.
Pilot project
The first portion of the trail in south Cobb is viewed by the Trust for Public Land as a pilot project, something to showcase the potential of the full Riverlands project.
“We are focusing on a demonstration project to show people what the Riverlands can be,” he said.
The pilot project will run from Mableton Parkway up to Veterans Memorial Highway. The plan is for construction to begin this year, and for the trail to open to the public in 2026.
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