AUGUST 19 - SEPT. 1, 2016
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Some residents want more input into Skyland Park, but deadline looms to break ground BY DYANA BAGBY dyanabagby@reporternewspapers.net
The city is ready to break ground on a new Skyland Park Feb. 1, but a group of residents wants to have more say on the park’s look now that a new DeKalb County school is being built on the park’s original site. Time is tight, though, as the city’s parks consultants at GreenbergFarrow are finishing up construction documents that soon will be released as part of a request for proposal for the project, said Brian Borden, Brookhaven’s director of Parks and Recreation. “The permitting and review phases of this project could take anywhere from one to two months GREENBERGFARROW The original design of Skyland Park on 10.6 acres to complete. Our goal is to have evincluded tennis courts as seen in this map. The erything ready to submit for counsmaller park does not include tennis courts. To see cil approval by the end of the year,” a larger version, go to ReporterNewspapers.net. Borden said. In a surprise deal last May, city we thought of is the new plan for Skyland officials sold Skyland Park to the DeKalb Park -- we thought we could leverage the Board of Education for $4.7 million. The City Council” to listen, Jensen said. school system will use its property for Community input is being accepted, the new John Robert Lewis Elementary but the city is ready to begin digging dirt School. for the new park. As part of the deal, the DeKalb school Skyland Park was originally a 10.6 system also purchased the State Vital Reacre plot, and last year community meetcords Office, which was located next to ings were held to collect ideas on what the the Skyland Park site and will turn that park should look like and what kind of property over to the city. The building’s amenities it should include. As part of the site is where the new, smaller Skyland original plan, tennis courts were included Park will be built. in the park’s layout. Of the $4.7 million being paid to the The new park now will be built on the city, $2.3 million will be used to demolish 4.6-acre site that had included the Vital Rethe building and build a new, smaller park cords building. featuring dog parks, a multi-use field and “The consultants have been able to ina playground, according to draft plans corporate what was in the original plan [of drawn up by GreenbergFarrow. Estimat10.6 acres] into this smaller site plan [of 4.6 ed cost to build the new Skyland Park is acres], minus the tennis courts,” Borden right at $2.3 million, according to the city. said. “It is also important to note that durNow some residents in the area say ing our public stakeholder meetings that there should be new community discuswere held last fall, which the original plan sions about what will go into the park. resulted from, tennis was not a top priori“We understand there were meetings ty of those that attended the meetings.” in the past, but the new school opens up Borden said the school system and the conversation. It would be great to add state are scheduled to close the sale of transparency to this project that wasn’t the Vital Records building city on Jan. 30. transparent with the school,” resident “Thus the target [construction] start date Myron Jensen told council members at of Feb. 1,” he said. the Aug. 9 meeting. Real estate deals are “The Skyland Park project is scheduled decided in executive sessions and behind to take 180 days – or six months -- to comclosed doors by city governments until a plete, and DeKalb County Schools cannot public vote must be made. begin construction on their new school Because the original plans for Skyland until the new park has been completed Park were in place before the school was and opened to the public,” he said. slated to be built on the property, Jensen “At this time, there are no additional said, neighbors are asking the council to stakeholder meetings planned. However, reopen discussion on the park’s layout. as always, citizens are welcome to con“We are not going to have a lot of say in tact their council representative at any the construction of the school. One thing time,” Borden said. BK
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