Photo by Donnell Suggs/The Atlanta Voice
Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens took his place behind a podium under a red, white, green, and gold balloon trellis inside the new West Cascade Park Friday afternoon. The mayor was there to officially cut the ribbon to the park and as he thanked the people in attendance he paused. Children were already playing on the park’s small playground by the time the ceremony started.
“I love that in the background you hear children laughing and playing,” Dickens said. “That’s what we have this here for.”
The last of the city’s neighborhood planning units (NPU) to get a park was officially scratched off the list this afternoon. West Cascade Park, one of the most historic and affluent mostly-Black neighborhoods in the city, now has a park to call its own. The 12-acre park is located on Danforth Road and includes a nearly one-mile-long walking trail that cuts through the park and near a creek.
The construction was handled by Black-owned Coweta County-based firm, Asque’s Construction & Home Improvement, and began in late 2020 following the demolition of a home that was in the center of the property. During the Bottoms administration there were plans to bring green space to the West Cascade Park neighborhood where Bottoms and her husband bought their first home in 1995 and has lived ever since. As a city councilmember she said she fought to get that done, but had more power to actually make the project happen when she elected as the city’s 60th mayor in 2017. Bottoms recalled seeing the for sale sign on the property and immediately getting in touch within the proper channels about buying the house and beginning the project.
Dickens said green spaces have a direct effect on a community’s health – both mental and physical- and “this one will ensure an exceptional experience for all visitors.”
The mayor credited Overstreet for spearheading the project after he took over at City Hall. Overstreet, an Atlanta native, said she handpicked the playground equipment and said the playground at Westside Park was her inspiration.
“The West Cascade Park project is a legacy project,” said Overstreet. She added that having this green space open is “addresses a significant gap in this neighborhood.”
The total construction budget was $3 million with more than two-thirds of the park being flood proof.
“This literally is a game-changer for our community,” Bottoms said.