Atlanta has no real waterfront. That's the pitch behind a recent post on the ATL TBD blog by Matt Guenther, a senior research data analyst with CBRE, who thinks Peachtree Creek could close that gap. Specifically, a three-mile stretch running beneath Interstate 85 and Piedmont Road, right where the BeltLine is gearing up to break ground on nearly three miles of fresh trails.
Today that area is mostly self-storage, parking lots, and ragged creek banks. Not charming. But Guenther points out Atlantans clearly love being near water. Piedmont Park's Lake Clara Meer and Bellwood Quarry both pull weekend crowds that suggest the appetite is real. With BeltLine trails coming, private land along the creek could be redeveloped into cafes, green space, and waterfront buildings that knit together Buckhead and Midtown.
The piece is explicitly a "what if" rather than a funded proposal. But the timing with BeltLine construction makes it worth reading. Piecemeal creek access already exists at Buckhead's Blackburn Park and Ira B. Melton Park. Stitch those together with trails and some actual waterfront programming and you get something Atlanta has wanted for a long time.
