Contact:
Brian Farley
(404) 367 2070

ATLANTA, July 21, 2003 - To preserve green space and improve parks for urban residents, The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation has announced $4.6 million in new grants to governmental, civic and nonprofit partners for projects that improve the quality of life inside Interstate 285.

By assisting efforts to acquire property and restore existing parks, the Foundation’s Environmental Initiative has helped preserve more than 600 acres of land within metro Atlanta to date. The Foundation, which awarded $6.5 million in Environmental Initiative grants last year, plans to invest a total of more than $20 million in the effort through 2004.

By assisting efforts to acquire property and restore existing parks, the Foundation’s Environmental Initiative has helped preserve more than 600 acres of land within metro Atlanta to date. The Foundation, which awarded $6.5 million in Environmental Initiative grants last year, plans to invest a total of more than $20 million in the effort through 2004.

The Initiative forges public-private partnerships to preserve green space through a request-for-proposal process.

Of 27 new grants, seven are for land acquisitions and 20 are for park improvements or operating support. Grantees include a broad mix of public and civic partners, including the Housing Authority of the City of Atlanta, DeKalb County, the Trust for Public Land and the PATH Foundation. DeKalb County has generated a 44 percent increase in park and green space acreage through its Parks and Green Space Program, with funding from both public and private sources, including significant investments by the Blank Family Foundation.

“One of this administration’s top priorities is to help enrich the quality of life for all of DeKalb residents through the preservation of green space and our natural spaces,” said DeKalb County Chief Executive Officer Vernon Jones. “I commend The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation for playing a pivotal role in helping us achieve our goals in green space acquisitions."

The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation announced its Environmental Initiative in late 2001 and began accepting letters of intent for projects in early 2002. Projects have been launched with The Trust for Public Land, the Conservation Fund, the Piedmont Park Conservancy, the Olmsted Linear Park Alliance, the Grant Park Conservancy and several neighborhood organizations, including the Vine City Neighborhood Association and the Cabbagetown Initiative Community Development Corporation.

“Great cities need great parks and green space,” said Elise Eplan, vice president for special initiatives, The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation. “We’re off to a strong start -- but we need to build an even stronger ‘green team’ from all sectors. For metro Atlanta to retain its greatest asset -- a high quality of life -- there is more funding, more preservation and more work to do.”

Organizations which will receive 2003 Blank Family Foundation green space grants are:

• DeKalb County Government -- $1.5 million to support land acquisitions, including the Briarcliff Road project to create a mixed-use park in a heavily-developed area, and the Constitution Lakes project, which will help create a wetland boardwalk and walking trails as part of the South River Greenway Corridor.
• The Trust for Public Land -- more than $1.1 million to acquire land in three areas of Atlanta and DeKalb County.
• PATH Foundation -- $500,000 to construct three trail segments, including the Perimeter Trail, being built in collaboration with DeKalb County and the City of Chamblee. Two other segments follow South Peachtree Creek in DeKalb County and an abandoned rail corridor in northwest Atlanta. The projects add 6.3 miles of trails to the PATH network.
• City of Atlanta Housing Authority -- $369,200 to support creation of a town center park, lake and amphitheatre at the West Highlands-Perry Homes affordable housing redevelopment project in northwest Atlanta.
• Olmsted Linear Park Alliance -- $300,000 to restore Springdale and Deepdene Parks, which anchor the Olmsted Linear Parks system along Ponce de Leon Avenue.
• City of Decatur -- $250,000 to support master planning, land acquisition and capital costs for creation of a preservation corridor that will provide open space, parks, trails and connectivity for the citizens of Decatur.
• Cabbagetown Initiative -- $200,000 toward creation and maintenance of a new community park in Atlanta’s Cabbagetown neighborhood.
• Piedmont Park Conservancy -- $100,000 for master planning to improve unused parkland and enhance public access.
• Trees Atlanta -- $87,000 to launch an Urban green space Management Program to maintain healthy environments, remove invasive plant species, and restore trees on public lands inside I-285.
• Park Pride -- $50,000 to continue advocacy for parks and the establishment of a new Parks District for the City of Atlanta.
• Friends of Peachtree Hills Park – $40,000 for stream bank restoration and native foliage in Peachtree Hills Park.
• Grant Park Conservancy -- $36,500 to support establishment of a permanent office and enhance long-term planning and effectiveness.
• Sidney Marcus Awesome Restoration Team (SMART) -- $25,000 for improvements to the City of Atlanta’s Sidney Marcus Park, including new playground equipment and creation of handicapped-accessible paths.
• City of East Point Parks and Recreation Department -- $16,000 to create a walking and jogging trail in East Point’s Brookdale Park, and support renovation of recreation facilities.
• Blue Heron Nature Preserve -- $15,000 for stream bank restoration and reintroduction of native Georgia foliage in the Buckhead neighborhood nature preserve, and $3,500 to support organizational effectiveness.
• Freedom Park Conservancy -- $13,500 to appraise potential property acquisitions and assist in strategic planning.
• First Christian Church of Decatur -- $12,000 to install playground equipment and a picnic pavilion at a community park in Decatur.
• Shut-In Outreach Mission, Inc. (R.E.D.E.E.M.) -- $3,500 to support organizational effectiveness planning.
• The Georgia Land Trust -- $3,500 to support organizational effectiveness planning.
  

Proposals submitted to the Foundation are evaluated by an Advisory Council of local and national environmental experts, including Rex Boner, vice president/southeast representative, The Conservation Fund; Bruz Clark, vice president, The Lyndhurst Foundation; Kelly Jordan, chair, Arabia Mountain Alliance; Stacy Patton, president, The Chattahoochee Hill Country Alliance; Randy Roark, architect and planner; Rutherford Seydel, partner, Lawson, Davis, Pickren & Seydel; and Harvey Young, coordinator of the Georgia Community green space Program, Georgia Department of Natural Resources.

The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation strives to be a catalyst for positive social change. Since 1995, the Blank Family Foundation has awarded more than $100 million to enhance education, preserve green space, sustain the arts and spark collaboration among its nonprofit partners.

Arthur M. Blank created the Foundation to share his civic values and the joy of giving with his family. Mr. Blank is owner and CEO of the Atlanta Falcons. He co-founded The Home Depot, the world’s largest home improvement retailer, in 1978 and retired from the company as co-chairman in 2001.