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Buckhead Reporter
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MARCH 20 — APRIL 2, 2015 • VOL. 9 — NO. 6
Chamblee sees development boom PERIMETER BUSINESS 9-14
‘We rely on our village’
A SPECIAL SECTION PAGES 15-18
Voters approve bond issue although final project list yet to be set BY COLLIN KELLEY AND JOE EARLE
Middle schoolers Nora Rosenfeld, 11, left, and Lucy Grey Sheilds, 12, share a joke and a sunny afternoon in the ‘Triangle Park,’ which was landscaped by the Castlewood Civic Association. The park is a place parents meet their kids after school.
PHIL MOSIER
Castlewood: A place where friendships can be forged at the playground BY JOE EARLE
joeearle@reporternewspapers.net
They start appearing at the end of the school day. Kids leaving class head for the playground. Their parents stroll down a wooded path through the neighborhood and gather there, too, as they wait to make their daily after-school child pickups. For members of many young families living on nearby streets, it’s a path to neighborhood bonding. “That’s how Kim and I are friends,” Castlewood Drive resident Jennifer Srouji said one recent afternoon as she and her neighbor Kim Nagy walked past Morris Brandon Elementary, the school they see as the heart of their neighborhood. Srouji chairs the neighborhood garden club. Nagy is co-president of the school’s PTA. “No, we met at garden club,” Nagy said. “You sent me a card. I still have it.” “Oh, that’s so cute. But we became friends at the playground,” Srouji replied. The Buckhead neighborhood known as Castlewood de-
veloped in the 1950s, residents say, when a group of postwar, ranch-style homes were built along five hilly streets – Castlewood, Dover, Edinboro, Mornington, Rhodenhaven and Rockingham. Later, homes rose as other streets – Arden Close and West Arden – were added. Now there are about 270 homes in the area, said Erin Mayo, president of the Castlewood Civic Association. “It’s a little pocket in a big city,” Nagy said. That’s one of the first things several residents said in praise of their neighborhood – it’s close Where to things. Midtown and downtown Atlanta are You a short jaunt in one direction, Cobb County Live a quick run in another direction. The heart of Buckhead is nearby, too. “The location is amazing,” Srouji said. But even more than its convenience, residents talk of Castlewood’s sense of community. It’s the kind of neighborhood where Halloween is a big deal, they say. The garSEE WE RELY, PAGE 6
Now a new round of politicking can begin. Atlanta voters on March 17 overwhelmingly approved a $250 million bond issue to pay for infrastructure projects across the city. The money – to be raised without a tax increase, according to Mayor Kasim Reed – is to be used to repair bridges, provide new traffic signals, fix city buildings and pave streets. But the final list of projects hasn’t yet been set in concrete by the city. While the great majority of the projects have been publicly identified, members of Atlanta City Council are to vote on the final list later this year. The list is available on the city’s website at infrastructuremap.org. “It’s a work in progress,” City Councilman Howard Shook said. “I’m hopeful the day is not far off when we’re going to wresSEE INFRASTRUCTURE, PAGE 5
Bonds win big Atlanta voters on March 17 overwhelmingly approved a pair of bond issues to finance $250 million in infrastructure improvements. Question one: To approve $187 million in bonds for transportation projects Yes: 18,314 - 88 percent No: 2,448 - 12 percent Question two: To approve $64 million in bonds to upgrade municipal facilities. Yes: 17,791 - 86 percent No: 3,013 - 14 percent Source: Fulton County Registration and Elections