Atlanta Memorial Park Conservancy in for the long haul

By Collin Kelley INtown Editor

The nonprofit Atlanta Memorial Park Conservancy (AMPC) spearheading the renovations at the Bobby Jones Golf Course, Bitsy Grant Tennis Center and Atlanta Memorial Park has only existed for little more than a year, but the amount of work completed in that relatively short time is extraordinary.

The AMPC pulled together the separate organizations for the tennis center, golf course and the six neighborhoods around the park into one unified group to create a master plan for the 190-acres of parkland – which is crossed by both Peachtree and Tanyard creeks – along Northside Drive. While the Bobby Jones Golf Course & Park Conservancy started the process of developing a plan for the 80-year-old course, the AMPC has advanced the process with a new master plan unveiled last month.

“We’ve been going like gangbusters,” AMPC President Roxanne Giles Smith said. “It’s been a banner year.”

While the decision on whether the historic links will remain 18 holes or become an innovative, reversible nine-hole course is still to come, the AMPC is looking at the entire park long term. While the final master plan will cost millions to execute and take a decade to fully realize, the AMPC plans to stay involved in the maintenance and preservation of the park, just like the Piedmont Park Conservancy has done with Midtown’s beloved greenspace.

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The Bobby Jones Golf Course has not been updated in more than 80 years, says the Atlanta Memorial Park Conservancy, with renovations now planned. Debate is under way if the course should remain 18 holes or be redesigned into a 9-hole course.

Smith noted that the Piedmont Park Conservancy has been existence for more than 20 years and is still involved in the ongoing renovations. The AMPC will launch a capital campaign to start raising money for the renovations this month.

The city’s third largest greenspace will remain under the control of the Atlanta Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs (DPRCA), which ultimately has final decision on all issues concerning its future. The master plan must be approved by DPRCA

Commissioner George Dusenbury and then go onto the Atlanta City Council for final approval and Mayor Kasim Reed’s signature.

Atlanta Memorial Park is the only regional park in the city that does not have a master plan, Smith said.