ATLANTA — A project aimed at connecting almost 20 metro Atlanta area cities through 100 miles of new trails and parks got a helpful boost earlier this week from a metro area nonprofit.
The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation donated $2.5 million to the Chattahoochee RiverLands project, which is an effort to build parks and trails throughout the metro Atlanta to connect 19 cities across seven counties.
According to information from the Trust for Public Land, there will be 42 access points and eight campsites
The Blank Foundation’s donation pushed private funding for the project to more than $22 million. Another $27 million for the project is coming from public funding sources.
Among the project’s units, the financial support from private and public donors is expected to let the TPL finish building the Cobb County Showcase Site as well as the Camp + Paddle Trail.
“Trust for Public Land is ecstatic to have the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation invest in our efforts to connect 20 cities and 7 counties through our Chattahoochee RiverLands work,” said George Dusenbury, Georgia State Director at Trust for Public Land. “We are grateful that philanthropic leaders understand the transformative impact that the Chattahoochee RiverLands will have upon our region and our state. The Camp + Paddle Trail and RiverLands Showcase are equitable investments that strengthen community health and resiliency by connecting residents to their river.”
The Camp + Paddle Trail is a plan to create a 48 mile Chattahoochee River, three-night, four-day kayak and camping experience, starting at Peachtree Creek in North Atlanta and continuing through to the McIntosh Reserve in Carroll County.
The trail, according to TPL, includes a kayak launch in Atlanta, an overnight camping experience at the Buzzrd Roost Island in Fulton County, plus another camping site at Campbellton Park in Chattahoochee Hills and a third at the new Chattahoochee Hills RiverLands Park.
The McIntosh Reserve at the end of the planned trail is a 1,400-acre greenspace at the southern end of the Chattahoochee RiverLands, according to TPL.
In Cobb County, the showcase site is a nearly three-mile greenway and trail stretching from Mableton to Smyrna. It features the new 12-acre RiverLands Gateway Park plus multiple new amenities at two other parks, three river access points, restoration projects and green infrastructure to reduce flooding and help boost water quality.
“Access to the Chattahoochee River will bring metro Atlanta another connection to the outdoors, which is vitally important to our community’s overall well-being,” Fay Twersky, president of the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, said in a statement. “We are delighted to support the Trust for Public Land as they complete this first step in a visionary plan to make the river more accessible to residents and visitors in the coming years.”