By Carlen Ruth Hultgren
Jesse Clark and Andy Schneggenburger, East Atlanta neighbors and current developers of, and force behind, the Masonic Lodge project, have taken on the Quarry project. They are the developers who are working on a master plan that would include the Quarry, properties on 1078 Moreland Avenue, and the former site of the Skyhaven Elementary school.
The Quarry is an assemblage of five properties comprising 11 acres in East Atlanta near the intersection of Moreland Avenue and United Avenue. Approximately 1.68 acres on the Moreland side is zoned MRC-1 in the City of Atlanta while the remaining 9.3 acres is zoned R4 in unincorporated DeKalb County. The latter portion has a former rock quarry and Entrenchment Creek running through it.
There is an opportunity to create a master-planned, park-oriented development with approximately 4 acres on the Moreland side entitled for a mixed-use/mixed-income development with the remaining acreage preserved as a public trail/park greenspace that interacts with the new development.
Additionally, the eastern portion of the Quarry site is directly adjacent to an existing 14-acre greenspace that was the site of the former Skyhaven Elementary School. This greenspace could be connected to the Quarry site and trail and create a 21-acre park in an “under-parked” area, providing a half-mile long, uninterrupted greenspace and path, that would connect the residents of East Atlanta from Cloverdale Drive to Moreland Avenue, leading to the Atlanta Beltline and/or direct access to a MARTA bus line.
The Quarry is a rare opportunity to preserve acres of urban land and create a legacy greenspace, park, and trail for public benefit into perpetuity. Assembled with the adjacent 14-acre site of the former Skyhaven Elementary School, (demolished in 2016, currently used as a passive greenspace by Dekalb County, and being considered for conversion to a permanent public park) it would improve pedestrian connectivity by linking an existing trail entrance at Cloverdale Drive to a new permanent trail entrance on Moreland Avenue.
There are three more meetings planned to enable the surrounding communities to participate in the discussion, give input on design preferences for redevelopment, and to help shape the plan. With the property under contract, its success hinges on community input and support.
All meetings will be held at the First Mount Pleasant Baptist Church, 816 Maynard Terrace, on the following dates and times:
SATURDAY, AUGUST 14; 11:00am – 1:00pm
Agenda: Proposed site planning and use options, design considerations
THURSDAY, AUGUST 26; 6:00pm – 8:00pm
Agenda: Progression of site planning and use options, preferred option
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 11; 11:00am – 2:00pm
Agenda: Feedback on revised site plan to reach final plan for submittal
For more information go to the website: www.thequarryeastatlanta.com.
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