Brookhaven at 10 | A Special Section

DECEMBER 2022 | A SPECIAL SECTION

‘I think we’ve made this a better place …’

Thanks to our city’s founders, who had the fortitude to say we needed to do something, all that has changed dramat ically. We’ve made a name for ourselves –not just in the metro area but also the state and nation. Businesses want to move here; amazing people want to live here. We are Brookhaven.

We have one of the best police de partments you could ever hope for. Re sponse times are dramatically improved. Brookhaven’s police department is inno vative: it established the second drone pro gram in the country and the first citywide license plate reader (LPR) program. Both initiatives have helped apprehend criminals who would do this community harm. And, did you know, the drone was even used dur ing the 2022 Cherry Blossom Festival to lo cate a missing child?

and overall quality of life, but it will also connect us to the Atlanta BeltLine, Path 400, and the Silver Comet Trail.

Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Em ory and the Atlanta Hawks training fa cility moved into the I-85/North Druid Hills area, an area that’s emerging as a ma jor medical hub with state-of-the-art and pilot facilities serving folks from all over. Our partnerships with these hospitals and the Georgia Department of Transporta tion have advanced $46 million in feder al and state funds to the I-85/ North Dru id Hills Road interchange project to ensure our community, and the patients at Chil dren’s and Emory, arrive easily and safely at their destination.

BY JOHN ERNST

My fellow Brookhaven residents, As we close in on our great city’s 10year anniversary, I can’t help but feel nos talgic. I grew up here, in the community known as Brookhaven before we were offi cially Brookhaven. I can remember walking to the Murphey Candler ballfields and play ing in the swimming pool in the summers. Now I live here with my wife and sons in

Lynwood Park. I love seeing my kids enjoy ing the same things I did as a child.

I can’t help but think how far our city has come since it was incorporated in 2012. Before that time, we relied heavi ly on DeKalb County with limited results. There were slow police response times, pot holes all over the place, neglected parks … you get the idea. We were a bunch of neigh borhoods who didn’t know who to identify with – Atlanta? Chamblee? Buckhead?

Brookhaven has embarked on major projects that have improved not only our city, but also the metro area and state.

Thanks to our $40 million park bond approved by voters in 2018, we have des tination and neighborhood parks we can be proud of. We built the first phase of the Peachtree Creek Greenway and are getting ready to embark on the second. Once com plete, this multiuse trail will not only con tinue to add to Brookhaven’s greenspace

Speaking of traffic, we want to be part of the solution. I’m collaborating with the mayors of seven cities and four Community Improvement Districts along I-285 as part of the Top End Transit Executive Com mittee to bring Express Lane Transit to the chronically congested outer perimeter en circling Atlanta.

And let’s not forget the Brookhaven Cherry Blossom Festival. It started with the late former Councilwoman and May or Rebecca Chase Williams and her wish to bring the community together in our beau tiful Blackburn Park. Today, it’s the second largest music festival in the state, bring ing in international stars like Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Rick Springfield, the Re vivalists, Smash Mouth, The Wallflowers and more. Most importantly, it successfully brings us together.

These projects have us poised for the fu ture, and the next 10, 20, 50, 100 years – I think we’ve made this a better place for our current and future residents. We sure are trying. Just maybe my kids and your kids will want to make Brookhaven home when they grow up.

A special thank you to our residents- we couldn’t do this without your support and input . . . Here’s to us!

At Orchard, we collaborate and build relationships with families to foster a personalized approach to care.

We provide community outreach and education as we seek to be a part of improving the senior living experience and eliminating stigmas related to aging and dementia.

We partner with you on this journey. Our mission is to be part of your solution!

About the Cover

The

John Ernst was elected mayor of Brookhaven in 2015 and re-elected to a second four-year term in 2019.

Mayor John Ernst, center, with City Council members Linley Jones, John J. Funny, John Park and Madeleine Simmons, L to R.

cover of this special section was designed by local artist Sanithna Phansavanh, one of the artists who have made murals on display in the city of Brookhaven. The mural is on display at 3751 Buford Highway NE.

Opening Fall 2024 Arthur M. Blank Hospital

Support Center

Opened January 2020

Center for Advanced Pediatrics Opened July 2018

We are proud to call Brookhaven home

Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta is excited to announce the newest hospital within our healthcare system. The Arthur M. Blank Hospital, which is slated to open in Fall 2024, will complete our North Druid Hills campus. But, we’re not just building a campus. We’re working at every level to expand our reach, support our research and propel the future of pediatric medicine.

Thank you to all the pediatric providers who deliver expert care to all children, ranging from newborns to teenagers. We look forward to continuing to collaborate with you as this hospital further advances pediatric care in Georgia for years to come.

Scan to tour our future campus.

©2022 Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Inc. All rights reserved.

Happy Anniversary

Welcome to where?

It almost wasn’t called ‘Brookhaven.’

When legislation to create a new city south of Dunwoody was debated in the state Capitol, not everyone liked the idea of calling it “Brookhaven.” There already was an established neighborhood with that name and part of that neighborhood was within the city of At lanta.

So, when a committee of state lawmakers considered an early ver sion of the bill creating Brookhaven, the name was changed to ‘Ash ford,’ supposedly to avoid confusion. The change didn’t last long. Within a few weeks, the name was changed back to Brookhaven.

BY JOE EARLE Editor’s Note

In the decade since, Brookhaven has carved its own place into the map of metro Atlanta. Residents elected newly minted city offi cials who created a police department and other city operations from scratch, took control of the community’s parks, fought a strip club and late-night bars in court, and expanded the city to include new areas, including one where medical towers now rise.

The Brookhaven Reporter asked some of the city’s founders and others who have been active in building the new community what they thought of Brookhaven as it approaches its 10th birth day. We also asked current City Council members to look ahead at the city’s next decade.

Here’s a look at Brookhaven at 10. Just don’t call it “Ashford.”

For more content, visit reporternewspapers.net/brookhaven-at-10.

When I look back after a decade at the controversy over cityhood , I laugh a little. Of course, there were some valid concerns expressed. However, the hyperbolic “You’ll be bankrupt in a year, they’ll raise your taxes, and you won’t have enough police” was just bad politics. It came from an inefficient county government that desperately wanted to keep hold of our uneven tax burden. “Police, Parks and Paving” was the mantra for Brookhaven Yes and I am proud that our city continues to do a great job with our original mission. However, the recent “nondiscrimination ordinance,” which can shut down a business for ‘misgendering’ customers, is over the top and patently unconstitutional. We could also do a better job really listening to our constituents on neighborhood issues. On balance, Brookhaven still does most things very well and I am extremely proud to have been the first mayor of Georgia’s best place to live.

J. Max Davis | Brookhaven’s first mayor

It has been exciting to see the many things that have been accomplished since our founding on Dec. 17, 2012. I am especially proud of our police department. The partnerships with the diverse areas of Brookhaven as well as the leadership and quality of our officers is truly the gold standard. As with any new venture or new city, we have hit a few bumps in the road. But the city of Brookhaven will continue on a positive trajectory.

Brookhaven has active, engaged residents, a proactive Chamber of Commerce and wonderful organizations like The Latin American Association, The Peachtree Creek Greenway, numerous civic associations, Murphey Candler groups and the Brookhaven Police Foundation. We also have a thriving, engaged small business community and the Cherry Blossom Festival, both of which make Brookhaven a destination to live and play. I am proud to be a part of this great city.

J.D. Clockadale | Co-founder and president of the Brookhaven Police Foundation, and commissioner on the Governor’s Commission on Brookhaven, which helped set up city institutions before the first election of City Council members

July 31 Voters approve creation of new city of Brookhaven.

Nov. 6 City holds first election for mayor and City Council. More than two dozen candidates seeks office.

Dec. 4 In runoff, voters choose J. Max Davis mayor and elect Rebecca Chase Williams, Bates Mattison and Joe Gebbia to join Jim Eyre on the first City Council.

Dec. 17 City of Brookhaven opens for business.

2022 Board Chairman of the Brookhaven Chamber of Commerce

DENNIS WILLIAMS President &

We know a thing or two about celebrating. Congrats, City of Brookhaven! The Hyatt Regency Atlanta Perimeter at Villa Christina is proudly in Brookhaven, GA Be on the lookout for the return of Jazz Brunch on Sundays at Villa Christina!

Kale Me Crazy Brookhaven kalemecrazy net/brookhaven | 678 515 3722 4260 Peachtree Road NE Ste 100 Atlanta, GA 30319

Congratulations on 10 years of cityhood, Brookhaven!

Petite Violette is Atlanta's premier, family owned and operated French Restaurant.

Check out these special events on our books: Fridays and Saturdays in December (2, 3, 9, 10, 16, 17, 23, and 30) Hollymark Presents: A Holiday Countdown to Murder. Come help us unwrap this mystery with Murder, Mystery and Mayhem!

December 19 22 Boars Head Feast with the Madrigal Singers The two glass, four course dinner features musical performances between courses. The evening begins at 6:15PM

Community voices

Brookhaven has changed a lot under the new officers in place. There has been construction all around the street where I live. Water saturation is awful -- no drainage -- so the water on heavy rainy days remains in our yards until the ground dries. It’s a main street, so no one has made any attempt to correct the drainage unless there’s a complaint. Several of my neighbors complain to each other, but hardly none attend the council meetings. I am not a jolly citizen right now. I assume that we have to complain a lot to get things done. There have been several meetings concerning our neighborhood, but most are delayed or placed on a back burner. We have been waiting several years for one. Certain events gets the city’s full support and some partial or maybe none. Why? It’s our neighborhood. Why are we still waiting? We had a large amount of funding, but a very slow completion. I have lived here seen the changes, but very slow action of completion.

Barbara Shaw | Long-time Lynwood resident and neighborhood activist

As a 30-year member of the Brookhaven business community, I witnessed the formation of a unique city. Brookhaven maintains the small town charm of quiet residential enclaves with nearby exciting shopping destinations and night life. Brookhaven attracts a wide variety of residents and patrons but unique as it retains and celebrates its diversity. Brookhaven’s leadership since its formation through innovation and determination has established Brookhaven as a leader in the metro Atlanta business market place. Its leadership has been comprehensive and compelling towards economic growth and development. Over the last 10 years, commercial, residential, health care and it’s chef-driven hospitality industry has blossomed. The Brookhaven Chamber of Commerce has played a vital role in advocating independently owned businesses. With a stellar Brookhaven Police Department, neighborhood parks and green-space, and conservancy services, Brookhaven has evolved as a great place to work and play. If a neon sign hung over the city it would shine “welcome!”

Dennis Williams | Chairman, Brookhaven Chamber of Commerce

The Peachtree Creek Greenway opened its first mile in 2019, only six years into its short history. Amazing and incredible! The work began when the stars aligned, and the city was new. The mayor, council members, and the community recognized the value that a multi-use trail would bring to the underserved corridor alongside Buford Highway and I-85. Over time, the PCG will connect Atlanta, Brookhaven, Chamblee, Doraville, and unincorporated DeKalb County to the BeltLine. But without the City of Brookhaven, the plan still would be languishing on dusty shelves. I’m proud to live in Brookhaven and to have founded the advocacy nonprofit, the Peachtree Creek Greenway, Inc. The work is a marathon, and not a sprint.

‘They’ say that the older you get, the faster the time goes. Even so, it’s hard to believe that 2022 will mark my 69th year of living along a 3-mile stretch of the Nancy Creek basin, and my 10th year of living in the city of Brookhaven. The city that I helped found builds on a heritage of ancient foothills, forests, creeks, and wildlife. As suburbs gave way to cities, it became increasingly apparent that the only road open to us was to move forward by working together. That goal has been realized. Our ancient forests are thriving. Our zoning regulations assure that our homes and workplaces complement their natural landscape. Our commitment to partner as public as public servants with our residents assures our further progress towards a fully realized urban life which keeps past, present, and future in balance.

Tom Reilly | Volunteer for the National Wildlife Federation and member of Brookhaven Tree Conservancy

The year of three mayors

In June, J. Max Davis resigns to

unsuccessfully for a seat in the state Legislature. On June 9, Councilmember Rebecca Chase Williams takes over as mayor. In September, Williams announces she won’t run again because of family health issues. On Nov. 3, John Ernst is elected mayor, the city’s third.

2015

Betsy Eggers | Founder of the Peachtree Creek Greenway

AT 10

In its first decade, Brookhaven rebuilds and expands parks

When the city of Brookhav en incorpo rated on Dec. 17, 2012, it inherited 11 parks and rec reational facil ities, totaling 270.8 acres, from DeKalb County. Brookhaven has since added parkland and greenspace, no tably the 33-acre Ashford Forest Preserve in 2017.

The city’s primary funding source for park improvements was an allocation from the Homestead Option Sales Tax (HOST). In April 2018, HOST was replaced by EHOST (Equalized Homestead Option Sales Tax). This change provided additional property tax relief for homeowners, but it also eliminated the funding source for cap ital improvements in Brookhaven parks.

At 2018, Brookhaven voters autho rized up to $40 million in capital improve ments to Brookhaven parks and facilities. Below are some of the major bond projects undertaken with the money. Visit www.

BrookhavenGA.gov/ParksBond-Ref for a comprehen sive list of parks bond proj ects, their costs, and status.

Ashford Park Splashpad

In June 2021, Brookhav en officially opened the new Ashford Park Splash Pad with a little help from throngs of Brookhaven children who at tended the event. Brookhaven Mayor John Ernst and District 2 Council Member John Park kicked off the festivities as a family of patients of Children’s Healthcare of Atlan ta turned on the water jets for the first time.

New Pool for Briarwood Park

Brookhaven’s newly renovated Briar wood Park pool made its debut in Septem ber 2020, just in time for a few final laps before the summer ended. It was the first major construction project utilizing a por tion of the $40 million Park Bond capital improvement funds.

Brookhaven Park Improvements

Improvements to Brookhaven Park be gan immediately after the city acquired the

front half of the park from DeKalb Coun ty in April. The fence along Osborne and Peachtree roads was removed and landscap ing was cleaned-up. Planned improvements include a larger parking lot and new build ing at the dog park that will include rest rooms, pavilion, and a deck with grills like the existing building. Improvements will

also be made to the sidewalks within the dog park. A new, larger playground will replace the current small playground. The new playground area will have restrooms and a small pavilion.

Lynwood Park

In October 2021 the city awarded $9.25 million for all of the improvements to Lyn wood Park that will transform the histor ic school-turned-recreation center, as well as the surrounding park area, while mark ing its historical significance to the city. Im provements will include a splashpad, new pool, pool house, parking lots, and land scaping Also, the city will install a bronze plaque inside the building listing the names of all recognized Trailblazers and install granite entrance monuments, identifying the neighborhood of Historic Lynwood Park. Granite monuments and historical markers also will tell the history of the area and its role in Brookhaven’s history. . “The Lynwood Park upgrades will be the most the most transformative changes out of all of the Park Bond upgrades, and they will all be happening simultaneously,” said Mayor John Ernst. “We will be wrapping up the Parks Bond projects at Lynwood [in 2023], which is the grand finale.”

Murphey Candler Park

The Parks Bond program includes mul tiple projects for Murphey Candler Park. The Horseshoe Road project was complet ed and opened for public access in July. The project rebuilt the road, giving visitors bet ter access to the park, and added parking spaces for existing pavilions. Nestled with in the Horseshoe Road is the Community Green, which opened earlier this year. The green features a small stage and seat walls and is intended as a gathering and creative space for small groups. After the opening of a trail along Nancy Creek last year, the north boardwalk opened in September, and a trail on the dam is under construction..

--ANN MARIE QUILL

Scenes of the city

The Reporter asked Brookhaven pho tographer Donna P. Williams to record images portraying her community. Here’s some of what she found.

Top row at left: Randy Lewis, owner and chef at The Ashford; top right: Sumi and her daughters, Shiva, 2, and Radha, 4, at Town Brookhaven

Middle row: left to right, Oglethorpe Uni versity student Kate Arett, Oglethorpe Mu seum of Art curator of collections John Daniel Tilford; Oglethorpe student Sula Paw; OUMA director Elizabeth Peterson; museum collections manager Druonna Collier; students Ashrakat Hassan and So phia Sobrino

Bottom row: Catherine Schenck, 3, at Town Brookhaven.

BROOKHAVEN AT 10

Council members look ahead

I project bright days ahead for Brookhaven! In our first 10 years, we did the hard work of creating a city, responding to citizens, pre serving greenspace, improving parks and establishing an identi ty that supports our motto, “You Belong Here.” In the next 10 years, I expect that Brookhaven will continue to take great care of the newly improved parks, acquire additional greenspace, provide top-notch city services, and ensure public safety thanks to our topnotch Brookhaven Police Department. Brookhaven will continue to tackle the metro-wide challenges of traffic and development in order to ensure the best quality of life for our citizens. Most im portantly, I expect Brookhaven will cement its reputation as a great place to live, work, play and achieve!

Linley Jones Brookhaven City Council, District 1

Over the next 10 years, I believe Brookhaven will continue its legacy of sustainability and ecological conservation. The cura tion and cultivation of Brookhaven’s tree canopy will be one of the things that other cities will be modeling over the next decade. Brookhaven will continue to lead the region in alternative transit options. In 2032, Brookhaven City Hall will be the centerpiece of a transformed MARTA development, providing a true live-workplay community. The entirety of the city will be better connected through a burgeoning network of multiuse paths. The Peachtree Creek Greenway will be complete and connected to the Atlanta BeltLine. Charging stations will be as ubiquitous as gas stations as electric cars become the popular option to combustion engines, for those that still choose to drive at all.

John Park

Brookhaven City Council, District 2

What an exciting time to live in Brookhaven! Our first 10 years have seen significant growth, improvements, and community in volvement. I look forward to the completion of upgraded devel opment at Brookhaven Park and Langford Park, which will com plement our already fantastic parks system. A new City Hall for public use and engagement will beautify Peachtree Road and all our city has to offer. Brookhaven is such a special place to live, work and play and we will only get better in the next 10 years!

Madeleine Simmons

Brookhaven City Council, District 3

Brookhaven since its inception has excelled in creating a city that is welcoming and inclusive for all. The continued success of the city of Brookhaven over the next 10 years will heavily rely on the “place-making” concept commonly used in the city and ur ban planning profession. Placemaking is the process of creating quality places where people want to live, work, play and learn. Brookhaven is a great city with great bones, and it will only get better as the policymakers, the leadership and the citizens continue to enhance greenspace and parks, economic development, trans portation, affordable/workforce housing, and public safety. These areas will contribute to the outcome of a successful community and the vision of a worldclass city to engage, inspire, and connect all citizens.

John J. Funny

Brookhaven City Council, District 4

AT 10

5 questions for Police Chief Emeritus Gary Yandura

Gary Yandura, the first chief of Brookhaven’s Police Department, now serves as chief emeritus of the city’s police force. Yandura started the Brookhaven department in 2013. He plans to re tire Jan. 1.

Q. What do you think is the chief accomplishment of the Brookhaven police over the past 10 years?

A. I feel our main ac complishment is our re lationship with the com munity in providing the law enforcement services needed and expected by them. We’re very proud of our response times on priority calls which have exceeded national standards along with us receiving an award for being the safest city in Dekalb County a few years ago. While everyone’s criminal activity has increased due to multiple rea sons, our department has also had a betterthan-average clearance rate in resolving our crimes. All of these efforts could only be ac complished with the support of our city ad ministration and council, who have contin

uously supported our initiatives and efforts.

Q. What are you the proudest of?

A. First, I’m most proud of our depart ment members that deal with our com munity every day and, once again, the rela tionship we have with our community. In ad dition, I’m very proud of the technology we’ve initiated in our area to enhance our law en forcement services.

This would include our license plate readers (LPRs) installed throughout the city, which has enabled us to solve many crimes that have occurred both inside and outside of our limits. We were the first department to ini tiate a LPR partnership with Georgia Power. Other programs that have been very success ful which were some of the first in our area were our First Responder Drone Program, our Mental Health Co-Responder Program and most recently the implementation of a “Live911” program which allows our officers to hear live 911 calls as their answered by our

911 center. This allows them to prepare and respond to serious calls in a safer, more effi cient manner. Many of these programs were the result of ideas brought about by our very own staff members. I’m also very proud that we’ve hired and mentored two members who became police chiefs in other jurisdictions, one of whom is now a state commissioner.

Q. What is your biggest regret?

A. The only regret I have is wishing I was younger when starting with the city of Brookhaven. The experience I’ve gained in three previous cities during my first 37 years of law enforcement prepared me for Brookhaven, but it’s now time to pass on the torch to a well-prepared younger command staff that I’m sure will carry on our depart ment’s partnership with our community.

Q. What has been the hardest thing for the department to accomplish over the past 10 years?

A. The hardest thing for our department to accomplish over the last 10 years can actu ally be narrowed down to the last few years, when retention and recruitment has been an issue, not only for our department, but across the nation. Our city administration and government has always been very sup

portive of our police department, as well as our entire community, but the overall law enforcement environment throughout our country does have an impact on every law enforcement member and their families. Our city has continually provided every thing needed to maintain and recruit good officers, but we still struggle with fewer ap plicants interested in law enforcement ca reers. This has been slowly changing during the past year, enabling us to reach our autho rized strength soon.

Q. Will the city’s new police headquarters and law enforcement center change policing in Brookhaven? If so, how?

I don’t believe our new police headquarters will change policing in Brookhaven, as this is engrained in our members already doing a great job in policing. The new building will enhance our ability to recruit and retain our members with a new working environment which will now include a fitness center, bet ter training facilities, and an overall better work environment than our current build ing, which was rented and retrofitted as our first police facility.

5 questions for Police Chief Brandon Gurley

Brandon Gurley is chief of police for the city of Brookhaven. Gurley was one of the first officers hired after Brookhaven’s department was created in 2013. He has held a variety of positions in the department. He was named chief in September.

Q. What do you think is the Brookhaven Police Department’s biggest accomplishment over the past decade?

A. Our relationship with our community is our biggest accomplishment. Our officers continue to work very hard in building and maintaining relationships throughout our community that has led to stronger trust. Our community welcomes and supports our innovative approach to the use of technolo gy in policing. This would not be possible without the support of our city administra tion and council, along with the hard work of the men and women of the Brookhaven Po lice Department.

July 31 Police department opens with Gary Yandura as chief.

Q. What do you think is the biggest challenge facing the depart ment over the next 10 years?

A. Hiring and retention will be our biggest challenge moving forward. We were used to seeing a waiting list of applicants who wanted an opportunity to work at our agency. Over the last three years, we have seen the attitudes and climate toward policing shift in a negative way. The negative views of policing highlight ed in the media have impacted the interest we once saw in others who wanted to become police officers. Crime continues to rise, but the number of police applicants needed to serve our community has decreased.

Q. What new directions, if any, do you hope to lead the department?

A. I am excited to lead this department into the next 10 years. We will renew our focus on forward-thinking and innovative approaches to public safety. It will be important to recog nize the staffing challenges and find new and innovative ways to meet the demands of pub lic safety for the city of Brookhaven. I will

promote this “out of the box” approach and en courage staff to look to the future to identify ways in which we can lead the nation in pub lic safety.

Q. Brookhaven of ficials have long said the city’s most popular department is police. How can you main tain that popularity over the next decade?

A. We have a strong sense of partnership with our residents because our internal com munity engagement with our staff is strong. Our officers mirror how they are treated in ternally with their interactions in the commu nity. We can’t expect them to treat the pub lic with respect if they do not feel respected in the workplace. Our sense of community starts within. This type of relationship and

The city starts construction on a new $15 million public safety headquarters being built along the Peachtree Creek Greenway. The 34,000-square-foot headquarters will house the police department and municipal court.

partnership with the community will main tain our popularity and respect that we are able to enjoy.

Q. Will the city’s new police headquarters and law enforcement center change policing in Brookhaven? If so, how?

A. Our staff are looking forward to relocating to the new building. The new facility will provide opportunities for us to leverage with recruiting and hiring while af fording a more productive work environment for our staff. Our new building will feature a fitness center and state-of-the-art training fa cility while being strategically located on the Peachtree Creek Greenway. We look forward to the renewed focus this will allow us to take on our health and wellness initiatives.

Brandon Gurley named new chief of the Brookhaven Police.

Chelette: CHOA is ‘racing toward completion’ of new hospital in 2024

BY SAMMIE PURCELL

In 2017, Children’s Healthcare of Atlan ta unveiled plans for an expansive cam pus at the interchange of North Druid Hills Road and I-85. The campus would cov er 70 acres and include the then already-underconstruction Center for Advanced Pediatrics, acres of green space and a new state-of-the-art hospital.

The project originally was to be completed by 2026. Today, the Center for Advanced Pediatrics is open, and the new hospital –dubbed the Arthur M. Blank Hospital in 2020 – is expected to be completed by late 2024.

According to CHOA, the donation from the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation was the largest in the organization’s history. The

hospital is expected to have one 19-story tow er with two wings, op erating rooms, special ty bed and diagnostic equipment, and will be connected to an 11-story medical office building.

Chris Chelette, Chil dren’s Healthcare of Atlanta’s senior vice president of facili ties services, recent ly answered questions about the progress of construction and what the new facility means for the city. This inter view has been edited for length and clarity.

Q. Can you give an overview of construction?

A. 2016, that’s when we started construc tion on the [Children’s Healthcare of Atlan ta] Center for Advanced Pediatrics, so we’ve been six years – almost approaching seven years – in construction on our North Dru

id Hills Campus. We started the Arthur M. Blank Hospital in February of 2020. We celebrated topping out in May of this year, about 2 1/2 years into the project. That real ly signifies the about halfway mark with con struction. We are racing now towards com pletion for fall of 2024. We’re extremely excited about that.

Q. That’s a little bit earlier than expected. A. It is. We’ve been pushing very hard. It’s a long, complex construction project, but we have been very, very lucky with a great rela tionship with the city, great contractors, and great subcontractors here in the market that we’ve been able to accelerate construction and open fall of 2024.

Q. What’s been complex about it?

A. Just the scale of the hospital. I mean, it’s what I would consider a mega project, be ing valued over $1.5 billion. So, it’s the scale of it, number one, but any hospital is just a complex undertaking.

Q. What kind of challenges do you come across when you’re designing and con structing a project that won’t be used

until years later, as far as technologi cal or medical advances are concerned?

A. We started designing around 2017. So, you know, five years ago we were in design. We open in the fall of 2024, so I mean that’s seven-plus years. You start to design around something from a medical equipment stand point … all that infrastructure, we just try to approximate what’s going to be in the future. Then we try to delay the buy. We don’t typ ically want to buy our medical equipment until the very end. We don’t want to buy our computers and our audiovisual equipment and all the patient engagement and every thing else until the very end.

The challenge that we have in this market is with the microchip shortage globally, we’re having to move up the buy. So, we started buying, at a pretty accelerated pace, all of our medical equipment, all of our computer systems, all the network equipment, just to make sure that we can actually get it in time of us opening. It’s been an interesting chal lenge that none of us have really ever seen be fore in the market.

Q. What are some of the fea tures or aspects of the upcom

Chris Chelette

ing building that make it unique?

A. I think the biggest thing is the environ ment that we’re trying to create. This is a re placement hospital for Egleston, which sits on seven acres in the heart of Emory’s cam pus – very concrete, just not a lot of room, right? We’re moving to a campus that has over 78 acres, of which we’re reserving 20 acres specifically for green space. I think that in itself has made this such a transformation al healthcare project. Not just for Children’s, but really for what we see here across the state and throughout the country.

Having that much land and then having the 20 acres of greenspace reserved for gar dens, and the ability for people to go outside is pretty big. We’ve got three miles of walk ing trails that will be on our campus, which is connected to the Peachtree Creek Green way through some sidewalks that we’ve been working together with Brookhaven to create.

Just that aspect alone is incredible, but then bringing that nature feel into the building through architecture, through interior de sign, through selection of materials and our sustainable approach to the campus, I think that is something special.

Q. What sort of im pact will this proper ty have for Brookhav en once it’s completed?

A. Brookhaven has been such an incredible part ner through this jour ney with us – and it re ally has been a journey, starting with annexa tion into the city, and then working through a very large campus expan sion, and being able to partner with them and with several state agen cies – the Atlanta Re gional Commission, the Georgia Department of Transportation, and oth ers – to create a holistic approach to the campus.

Traffic is a huge con cern in this area … [We’re] bringing to the table traffic and infra structure improvements that are really going to transform what would be the southern gate way into Brookhaven. I think that’s just going to be a game changer, not just for us but for the city as well. Improvements at North Druid Hills Road and I-85, which are coming soon through GDOT, that’s going to be pretty special.

Q. Brookhaven has Children’s Health care of Atlanta and Emory’s Execu tive Park right across the street. How do you think the city is going to evolve as a market in the healthcare industry?

A. You know, it’s hard to say what the fu ture looks like. I think for us, having the 78 acres here, this is a 100-plus year campus. Children’s is planting our flag here at North Druid Hills. Same thing with Emory. I think it’s only natural that you’ll see a tremendous amount of development that starts to hap pen around this area – Brookhaven, DeKalb County, and out from here. Will it be med ical, will it be medical offices? Who knows what it will be. But I think we’re about to see. There’s all kinds of talk and there’s all kinds of planned developments already hap pening, but I think there’s going to be a fairly large amount of growth that starts to happen around our campus, as well as the Emory campus.

April The Atlanta Hawks announce they’ve teamed up with Emory Healthcare to build a 90,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art practice and sports medicine facility in Executive Park.

Jan. 11 Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta begins work on a massive medical complex on more than 70 acres at I-85 and North Druid Hills Road.

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A festival blooms in Brookhaven

BY ANN MARIE QUILL

It started small, but it kept growing. Conceived in 2015 by the late mayor and former District 1 Councilwoman Re becca Chase Williams, Brookhaven’s first Cherry Blossom Festival originally offered road races, arts and crafts. The Pet Parade and a show headlined by rock ‘n’ roll leg ends The Coasters and The Drifters.

“There’s truly something for everyone,” Williams said at the time.

It attracted a few thousand fans. But in the years since, the acts have gotten big ger, and the crowd has grown to more than 40,000. That puts Brookhaven’s hometown music-and-arts fest among the metro area’s big players.

“I can’t turn on the radio without hear ing a song by some one who’s played at the Cherry Blossom Festival,” Brookhav en Mayor John Ernst said.

International ly known acts such as Smash Mouth, the Spin Doctors, the Wallflowers and the Romantics have ap peared at the festi val. In 2021, after two years of festival can cellations due to the COVID pandem ic, the Brookhaven Cherry Blossom Festival Summer Block Party filled the Brookhaven MARTA Sta tion parking lot with concertgoers clam oring to see acts such as Better Than Ezra, Rick Springfield and Collective Soul.

This past spring, with Joan Jett & The Blackhearts as headliner, the 2022 Brookhaven Cherry Blossom Festival drew an estimated 40,000 concertgoers and was the second biggest music festival in Geor gia, behind only Shaky Knees. “And that’s just because they had one more day than we did,” Ernst said jokingly

In 2018, the city began contracting with Splash Festivals to run the artist mar ket, a move that expanded the arts portion of the festival from a handful of vendors in a grassy area of Blackburn Park to more than 100 artists’ tents lining Rebecca Wil liams Way, which winds through the park. A second partnership put the Brookhaven Cherry Blossom Festival music lineup on the concert map in the Atlanta area. “Our partnership that began with Live Nation in 2018 was the linchpin,” Ernst said.

Ernst said when he thinks about how concerts can bring people together, he goes back to a New Year’s Eve party in 1999. “I was at a private party where Duran Duran played,” he said. “I remember thinking: ‘it’s not outrageously expensive to hire some of these acts. Doesn’t everyone deserve to see them without going broke?’”

Ernst said he saw the Cherry Blossom Festival’s potential in 2017 when the head liner was The Sweet Tea Project, a side band

led by Ed Roland of Collective Soul. Ernst contacted concert promoter Peter Con lon, president of Live Nation Atlanta, who agreed that Live Nation would book acts for the festival pro bono along with Andrew Hingley, a Live Nation talent booker and co-owner of Eddie’s Attic.

Hingley, a Brookhaven resident, said the Cherry Blossom partnership is a symbiot ic relationship. While Live Nation may not charge the city a booking fee, he said, the arrangement helps the company as it ar ranges artist’s tours. “There are certain pe riods of the year when artists may be look ing for somewhere to play, but everything’s booked,” he said. “It’s great to have the Cherry Blossom Festival to offer them; it

helps build a relationship with those art ists.”

The festival, Hingley said, now is firmly on the concert map. “We now get calls from acts wanting to be in it. It’s been such an evolution, and the last few years have just been home runs.”

Ernst agrees. “I think Rebecca would be proud. She was a believer in doing things the right way, and I think we’ve hit the mark with the Cherry Blossom Festival,” Ernst said. “Besides, at the Summer Block Party, Ed Roland referred to his band as the ‘house band.’ What other young festival in a young city can say that?”

Use the Spotify app to hear Mayor John Ernst’s Cherry Blossom playlist.

Don’t consider Oglethorpe a ‘hidden gem’ any longer

BY LOGAN C. RITCHIE

In the heart of Brookhaven sits Ogletho rpe University, a four-year, private college nes tled into a tree-filled, 107-year-old campus featuring stone Gothic buildings and steeped in history and transformation. Oglethorpe President Dr. Nicholas Ladany just asks that you don’t consider it a “hidden gem.”

“I’m used to a strong ‘town and gown’ re lationship,” he said. “Brookhaven is a great place to connect. We serve as a community place for residents to walk across campus, visit the coffee shop, and experience the beauty of our park-like settings and buildings.”

The university and the community plan to collaborate in new ways, too. In April, a community event called Sip Brookhaven at Oglethorpe is to be held on campus green space. The event will feature wine and cock

tails with sommeliers and mix ologists. More details will be available in January.

In his third year at the uni versity, Ladany – a psychol ogist serving as Oglethorpe’s 17th president -- said he wants Oglethorpe also to change in other ways. He wants to in crease the diversity of the fac ulty, staff, and student body, and to create a multi-pronged approach to mental wellness.

The makeup of the student body already is growing more diverse. Of the 403 incoming freshman in 2021, 34 percent were first-generation stu dents and 64 percent identified as people of color, the university reports.

Ladany said he intends health and well

ness to be a “centerpiece” of his administration. “What do we need to do to enhance health and wellness in our communi ty, our students, but also our faculty and staff?” he asked. “Helping enhance mental health on campus, particularly after the pandemic, is critical.”

Oglethorpe already has opened the university’s coun seling center to offer unlimit ed services for all students. “It’s the way we’re taking care of them as members of our com munity, members of our family,” he said.

The college also reaches out to students in new ways. From the incoming class of 425 students, more than 300 requested a peer mentor to help with the transition to college.

Within a month of launching the mentor ing program, he said, more than 5,000 texts went back and forth between the mentors and mentees.

Ladany said his goal is that in 20 to 30 years, the campus is aesthetically and physi cally in good shape, the student population remains diverse, and the non-traditional de gree program is thriving.

“We are a place where we can have dia logue, we don’t limit speech, we try to make sure that everyone can have a free and fair conversation and feel respected in those con versations,” he said. “One example would be from one end of the political spectrum to the other. We’re the place where you can come and have those discussions and do so in a re spectful and affirming manner, without feel ing canceled, without feeling dehumanized.”

Nicholas Ladany