1240232 Project Overview and Background.pdf

RFP/PS/DCP/2401-1240232/RiverLands Corridor and Chattahoochee Brick Co. Planning and Design

Project Overview and Background for Planning and Conceptual Design for the City of Atlanta’s Chattahoochee RiverLands Trail Corridor and the Chattahoochee Brick Company Memorial, Greenspace, and Park

One River Corridor, Two Related Efforts The City of Atlanta (City) is seeking proposals from highly qualified and experienced consulting teams (Consultant) to lead the planning and conceptual design of Atlanta’s Chattahoochee RiverLands Corridor and the future Chattahoochee Brick Company Memorial, Greenspace, and Park.

The two components of this project, described in more detail in the project overview below and in the Scope of Work (Exhibit A2), are related both geographically and programmatically: the Chattahoochee RiverLands is a vision for an activated metropolitan river corridor, and the Chattahoochee Brick Company is a significant site within that corridor. While the two project components have separate funding sources and must be invoiced separately, the City is approaching the visioning, planning, and design of Atlanta’s Chattahoochee RiverLands corridor and the Chattahoochee Brick Company site as one unified initiative with the selected Consultant.

Funding The funding for Atlanta’s Chattahoochee RiverLands Corridor planning is provided through a grant from ARC and is in support of the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) sub-element 306ETS- Regional Transportation Planning Study Program. The work funded through this grant must be completed by May 31, 2026.

The goal of the Regional Transportation Planning Study (RTPS) program is to provide local governments and Community Improvement Districts funds for transportation plans, corridor studies and feasibility studies that support the goals and objectives of the Atlanta Region’s Plan. The purpose of these studies is to develop project concepts that improve safety, mobility, and access to all roadway users, while also preparing them for advancement to Preliminary Engineering phases (in future ARC Transportation Improvement Program project solicitations or other local, state, or federal funding opportunities).

The planning and design for the Chattahoochee Brick Company site is funded by local funds. Due to the separate funding sources, work related to the two project components will need to be tracked and invoiced separately.

Schedule Deadlines and Goals Atlanta’s Chattahoochee RiverLands Corridor: As noted previously, all grant-funded work for the planning of Atlanta’s Chattahoochee RiverLands corridor must be completed by May 31, 2026.

Chattahoochee Brick Company: The City has a goal of completing construction and opening the first phase of the Chattahoochee Brick Memorial, Greenspace, and Park by early 2029. In order to meet this goal, the Consultant must complete the planning and conceptual design within a timeframe that allows for the final design and construction phases to be completed by the 2029 goal.

Design Standard The City intends to seek certification of all future RiverLands-related projects under the Sustainable Sites Initiative version 2 (SITES v2), which is the current standard for an integrated design process to establish restorative ecological services to enhance the fabric of the landscape. Based on various performance measures, SITES supports the unique conditions of each site and encourages project teams to be flexible and creative in establishing functional and regenerative landscapes.

The Consultant will document all relevant planning and design prerequisites and credits needed to meet the SITES v2 requirements during the planning and preliminary design. Additionally, the Consultant will work with the City to determine the most appropriate SITES certification level to seek for the project.

Data Available The City can provide georeferenced aerial imagery of the Atlanta Reach study area, as well as GIS files with topography (1 foot contours from aerial) and other relevant data such as hydrology, jurisdictional boundaries, streets, parcel boundaries, zoning and land use, etc. The City can also help the Consultant identify and obtain relevant studies and help the Consultant coordinate with utility operators to identify the location and types of infrastructure within the study area.

Note on the Archaeology Cost Proposal The City recognizes that the full extent of the necessary archaeological work (see task 3 in the Scope of Work) may not be known until the completion of the historical research and initial field investigations.

The Consultant should base the cost proposal for the archaeology work on a scope that covers all anticipated historical research and related archaeological fieldwork, as well as the research and development of a methodology to find burials on the site. The cost proposal should include a reasonable estimate for initial fieldwork to assess the most likely areas for human burials. Based on the outcome of this initial work, the City, in consultation with the Consultant, will determine what, if any, additional archaeology work is needed and negotiate a contract amendment.

PROJECT OVERVIEW- CORE COMPONENTS

The Chattahoochee RiverLands and Further Planning of Atlanta’s Chattahoochee Riverfront

Since the 1970’s, there have been a number of plans developed and implemented for trails, parks, and conservation along Metro Atlanta’s Chattahoochee River corridor, including the Metropolitan River Protection Act (MRPA) and the development of the Chattahoochee National Recreation Area.

Most recently, the City of Atlanta, Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC), Cobb County, and Trust for Public Land (TPL), along with dozens of river stakeholders and hundreds of participants at public forums across the Atlanta metro region, came together for over 24 months starting in 2018 to craft a vision for over 100 miles of connected trails, parks, and public spaces along the Chattahoochee River, the result of which was the 2020 Chattahoochee River Greenway Study, titled the “Chattahoochee RiverLands.”

The Chattahoochee RiverLands vision is to create a seamless public realm along the river while promoting a safe and connected corridor, a common ground for everyone, an ecological refuge for the region, and a living legacy of conservation and education. The ARC Board adopted the Chattahoochee RiverLands study in August of 2020, and the City adopted a resolution of support in February 2023.

While the Chattahoochee RiverLands Study presents a regional vision, significant work remains to advance this vision locally. There are approximately seven miles of Chattahoochee riverfront along the western edge of the City of Atlanta. Approximately five miles of that riverfront will be activated as part of the Chattahoochee RiverLands.

This stretch of the river will be one of the most accessible in the region, with up to three potential water access points, five potential greenway trailheads, four future regional trail connections, and 15 existing bus stops within a 15-minute walk. This segment of the RiverLands will also complete connections with many regional trails including the Atlanta BeltLine, the Silver Comet Trail, the Whetstone Creek Trail, and the Proctor Creek Greenway as well as a RiverLands trail segment being advanced on the Cobb County side of the river.

Planning the ‘Atlanta Reach’ The City of Atlanta received funding from the Atlanta Regional Commission to conduct a scoping study for Atlanta's portion of the Chattahoochee RiverLands corridor, referred to throughout this RFP as the “Atlanta Reach”.

The 2020 Chattahoochee RiverLands study established a preferred alignment and practical alternatives for the “main stem” RiverLands trail paralleling the Chattahoochee, as well as proposed alignments for connecting local trails. While the level of resolution of the study is acceptable to present a regional vision, the study’s current alignments within the Atlanta Reach project area must be studied more closely and be based on a better, more intimate understanding of local conditions.

The purpose of the scoping study is to further refine the preferred alignment of the Chattahoochee RiverLands trail, resolve connections to local and regional trails, and more closely investigate known challenges such as difficult topography and creek and rail crossings. The study will also consider and make informed decisions about the location and purpose of any new park spaces, river access points, and balance the restoration of the river’s ecosystem and remediation of former industrial sites with greater access to the natural amenities provided by the Chattahoochee River.

The Atlanta Reach study area is generally bounded by Standing Peachtree Park at 2630 Ridgewood Rd NW, Atlanta, GA 30327 south/downstream to the Atlanta city limit at Sandy Creek, approximately ½ mile south of D.L. Hollowell Pkwy (US 278) along the river. For the RiverLands trail design, these limits may be adjusted for logical termini purposes. See Exhibit 1 for a map of the study area.

Chattahoochee Brick Company Memorial, Greenspace, and Park Planning and Design

“This site was one of the most terrible places anywhere in America at the end of the 19th century. There were hundreds of African American men forced to labor here against their will, accused of crimes that many of them had never committed.

They suffered terrible abuses and indignities, hunger, and whippings. We don’t know how many people died here or how many may have been buried here, but this was a place of grim terror.”

- Douglas A. Blackmon, Slavery by Another Name

Sitting on a bluff over the Chattahoochee at nearly the exact center of the Chattahoochee RiverLands corridor and the Atlanta Reach lies the former site of the Chattahoochee Brick Company. The City of

Atlanta purchased this 75-acre site in 2022 with the intent of redeveloping it as a public park, passive greenspace for floodplain rehabilitation/restoration, and a memorial to the victims of the site’s dark history. The redevelopment of this site will be a significant piece of the City’s implementation of the Chattahoochee RiverLands vision.

The Chattahoochee Brick Company (CBC) supplied countless bricks for buildings and infrastructure across Atlanta during decades of rapid growth after the Civil War. The company relied exclusively on leased convict labor from its inception in 1885, forcing primarily African American men, often arrested under petty or dubious charges, to work under brutal, sometimes fatal, conditions. Reports of cruel, inhuman treatment of prisoners were first published in 1895 and led to investigations that ended Georgia’s convict leasing system in 1909. The CBC and its successor, General Shale Brick, continued operations using paid labor into the early 21st century. In 2011, the remaining factory buildings were demolished. A petroleum and alternative fuel distributor purchased the site in 2016 with the intent of building a terminal with direct rail services but abandoned its efforts due to community opposition and pressure from the City of Atlanta. The City purchased the property in 2022 with the intent of redeveloping the site into a public greenspace, park, and memorial to the victims of convict leasing.

Even before the City acquired the property, two local non-profit organizations, the Chattahoochee Brick Descendants Coalition and the National Center for Civil and Human Rights (NCCHR) had already begun efforts to raise public awareness of the site and its history and discuss ideas for memorialization. Both groups will be working with the City throughout this planning effort.

It is need to shed light on the site’s dark history that sets the planning of the CBC site apart from a typical park project. This will be one of the first public sites in the country to document and interpret the post-Reconstruction era of convict leasing in the South and the societal-wide oppression of African American citizens it reinforced. This will not be an easy or comfortable story, but it is a vital, necessary one to tell. Case studies of historic sites and memorials will help inform the visioning process, as will consultation with, and involvement of, local and national experts in relevant fields such as history (African American, Southern, labor, prison), historic memorialization and curation, and other relevant fields.

RELATED EFFORTS

The City has a goal of opening a first phase of the Chattahoochee Brick Company Memorial, Greenspace, and Park to the public by early 2029, as well as providing recreational access to the Chattahoochee River for visitors to the City during the 2026 World Cup. In order to meet these goals, several other efforts (listed below), related to the two project components but outside the scope of this RFP, will be happening at the same time. While many of these other efforts will be led by the City, the Consultant leading the planning of the Atlanta Reach and CBC site will need to be aware of these efforts and will be expected to coordinate with them as needed. Please see Exhibit 2 for a conceptual schedule showing the work under this RFP and the related efforts.

Kayak Launch at Standing Peachtree (anticipated completion fall 2024) The Trust for Public Land is leading the design and construction of a canoe and kayak launch at the Standing Peachtree Greenspace. This launch will be constructed on Peachtree Creek near its confluence with the Chattahoochee River. This launch will be the northernmost trailhead of a planned 48-mile-long

Chattahoochee RiverLands paddle trail that extends south to Chattahoochee Bend State Park. The launch is anticipated to be open to the public by the fall of 2024.

Please see Exhibit 3 for the proposed design of the kayak launch

Atlanta’s RiverLands Trail, Seg.1 (anticipated completion spring 2026) An early RiverLands trail project connecting to the Standing Peachtree Greenspace and future kayak launch is currently in design and anticipated to be opened by spring of 2026. This project will include a bicycle/pedestrian bridge over Peachtree Creek, connection to, and rehabilitation of, an existing (but currently closed) multi-use trail, and the creation of an interim trailhead and parking area. This trail will likely be the northernmost section of Atlanta’s “main stem” Chattahoochee RiverLands trail. This project will be led by the City of Atlanta in partnership with the PATH Foundation.

Please see Exhibit 4 for a map of the proposed trail.

Chattahoochee RiverLands- Bike/Pedestrian Bridge Feasibility Study (anticipated start 2024) The City of Smyrna, GA has received $900,000 in federal funds to develop a feasibility study for a bicycle and pedestrian bridge across the Chattahoochee River, between the City of Atlanta near the Proctor Creek confluence/CBC site and the City of Smyrna and Cobb County’s 2.7-mile ‘RiverLands Showcase’ greenway.

Chattahoochee Brick Brownfield Remediation Over a century of industrial activity at the CBC site left contaminated soil on significant portions of the CBC site. The property was enrolled in the State of Georgia Brownfield Program (managed by the State’s Environmental Protection Division, EPD) after extensive site assessment determined that the soil in several areas of the site is contaminated with high levels of lead and other industrial pollutants. Under the previous owner, the site was remediated to industrial standards, but additional cleanup is required for future recreational use of the site.

The City of Atlanta was awarded a FY 2023 Brownfield Cleanup grant from the United States Environmental Protection Agency for further remediation of the contaminated soil. The City is currently soliciting proposals from a Qualified Environmental Professional (QEP) under a different RFP, and it is expected that the QEP will finalize a cleanup plan, amend the Corrective Action Plan, will oversee site remediation and develop engineering controls by June 2026 and during the anticipated planning and conceptual design process at the CBC site.

The brownfield remediation will not be part of the scope of work for the Atlanta Reach and CBC planning and design RFP, though coordination between the scopes of work and their teams will be necessary.

While the cleanup plan for the site will be based on the State’s residential and non-residential Risk Reduction Standards for several exposure scenarios likely to occur during site redevelopment/maintenance/public use. These scenarios contemplate “active recreation” uses in the upland portion of the site, and “passive recreation” in the floodplain. If the planning of the CBC site progresses quickly, the Chattahoochee Brick Company Site Plan (concepts or final plan) prepared by the Consultant as a Task 8 deliverable (see below) may inform the brownfield cleanup plan and allow a more site specific or detailed approach to the cleanup. Please see Exhibit 5a for information on the brownfield cleanup plan, in the form of Atlanta’s latest (June 2023) Prospective Purchaser Corrective Action Plan.

Additional information (environmental precautions and environmental assessments) on the brownfield site conditions may be found in Exhibits 5b-5d.

Due to the schedules of the brownfield remediation and the work described in this RFP, it will be necessary to begin the archaeology work described in task 3 (see Exhibit A2- Scope of Services) before the City’s brownfield remediation occurs. While partial brownfield remediation by the previous owner has left the surface of the site relatively safe to visit, performing work on the site, especially work involving soil disturbance, could pose a hazard. Documentation of current soil contamination is provided in Exhibits 5a-5d which should be used to develop a Worker Safety Plan to protect the archaeologists and other workers performing work on the contaminated portions of the site.

Chattahoochee Brick Company Memorial, Greenspace, and Park Board (“CBC Board”) The City of Atlanta has established an 11-member appointed Board to guide the City’s decisions on how best to reuse the site as a memorial, greenspace, and park, and to tie the events that occurred there to broader themes of truth, understanding, and healing. Members of the Board are topic experts as well as local community members. The CBC Board meets on a regular schedule and will provide guidance at key project decision points. The Consultant will be expected to provide periodic updates to the CBC Board throughout the visioning, planning, and design of the CBC site.

Early Public Engagement The City will be starting a five-month long early awareness and education program focused on the CBC in February 2024, prior to the award of this RFP. The NCCHR will collaborate with the City on this early engagement campaign. Further collaboration with the NCCHR has been contemplated, but decisions regarding the nature of future collaboration will likely not be made prior to the hiring of the Consultant.

Exhibit No. Document Name Exhibit 1 Study Area Map Exhibit 2 Conceptual Schedule Exhibit 3 Standing Peachtree Kayak Launch, Partial Plans Exhibit 4 Chattahoochee RiverLands Trail, Seg. 1 Alignment Exhibit 5a CBC Brownfield Prospective Purchaser Corrective Action Plan Exhibit 5b Environmental Precautions for Workers at CBC Brownfield Site Exhibit 5c Phase 1 Environmental Assessment, CBC Site Exhibit 5d Phase 2 Environmental Assessment, CBC Site Exhibit 6a Parcel assemblage Survey, CBC Site Exhibit 6b Parcel assemblage, Parrot Commerce Exhibit 7a Phase 1 Cultural Resources Survey & Cemetery Delineation, CBC Site Exhibit 7b CBC Tunnels Letter Exhibit 7c CBC Cemetery Investigation Report Exhibit 8 Secretary of the Interior’s Professional Qualification Standards