Former Executive Director of the Atlanta Regional Commission Doug Hooker was recently named CEO of the Midtown Connector Park (MCP), a planned 17-acre greenspace that, when finished, will run from North Avenue to 5th Street in a canopy-like design. The park will be a deck park, a park in the sky, a gathering place for Atlantans looking for a getaway from city life without actually leaving the city. Piedmont Park for a new age.
Hooker’s career as an engineer and public servant dates back to the 1990’s, and his new role as MCP’s CEO will once again have him in a front-facing leadership position at a crucial time in Atlanta’s growth.
He recently sat down with The Atlanta Voice (not literally, he was on a plane when we reached out to him for this story) to talk about coming out of a (brief) retirement to take on the challenge and why this project was one that was exciting to him.
The Atlanta Voice: Mr. Hooker, what was so good about this opportunity that it could bring you out of retirement and back into public life?
Doug Hooker: There are a few reasons why I chose to come out of retirement to work on this. First, the Connector Park initiative, represents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to bring a transformative project that will benefit Atlantans and Georgians for many generations to come. Second, I was first exposed to this concept thirty years ago, in the fall of 1992, when I served as Commissioner of Public Works for Mayor Maynard Jackson. Based on a suggestion by (now deceased) the landscape architect Roy Ashley, Mayor Jackson wanted to know if we (the City) could build a linear park over the expressway, from the Grady Curve north to 10th Street in time for the 1996 Olympics. I provided him with an analysis that said it was highly improbable that we could do something so monumental in such a short time. He said something to the effect of, “It’s a beautiful vision. Maybe someone will build it someday.” When I was called by Dan Cathy in the fall of 2022, some thirty years later, I heard Mayor Jackson’s voice in my mind. I feel that I have an opportunity to put the experiences, skills, and relationships that I have acquired over the past thirty years, to help bring this beautiful vision to life.
Third, the city and region lack significant greenspace in our center. We have Piedmont Park to the East and Westside Park to the west, but nothing sizable in the middle. This project represents an opportunity to put large greenspace in the middle of our beautiful city. A gathering place for all from near and far – a connector park to reconnect people.
AV: What are some of the goals for the Midtown Connector Park? What are a few things about the project that our readers should know?
DH: One goal of course is to get it built. To turn a portion of the unused vertical space over our expressway into a public park. Another goal is to symbolically reconnect parts of the eastern and western sides of Atlanta that were disconnected by the building of our highways, thereby providing a beautiful gathering place for all Atlantans and our visitors. Third is to introduce a major greenspace that will enhance our environment, helping to improve air quality and mitigating stormwater runoff over portions of the highway.
AV: A 17-acre park in the heart of Atlanta sounds like a wonderful idea. How long till we see some ground broken and machines rolling?
DH: I can’t say. This is a very complex undertaking. We first need to figure out the governance arrangements: who will own it, who will operate and maintain it, how will it be insured, etc? Once we have those arrangements determined, then we need to figure out how to finance the construction and the ongoing operation and maintenance of the park. It is only when these two components are worked out that we can project a construction timeline. It would be purely speculative, and not particularly helpful, for me to project a construction start at this time.
AV: In your opinion is this park a way to further “connect” Atlantans similar to how the BeltLine has done recently? Was the BeltLine an inspiration for the Midtown Connector Park at all?
DH: I strongly believe the Connector Park will connect and reconnect regional residents in wonderful ways we can imagine and in ways we cannot imagine – much like the Beltline has done. The Beltline was NOT
inspiration for the Connector Park, because as I said earlier, Mayor Maynard Jackson contemplated the concept 30 years ago, channeling the ideas of landscape architect Roy Ashley.
AV: What have you learned as Executive Director of the Atlanta Regional Commission that you can bring to this new position with the Midtown Connector Park?
DH: I think the most important thing I learned during my tenure at ARC was the power of a unified community to accomplish big things, to make the impossible seem possible and to make the difficult doable. On a technical level, my ARC colleagues – who are some of the best in the nation at what they do – taught me a lot about the various aspects of federal and state programming. I am not an expert at the many rules and regulations surrounding transportation, community development, water resources and more. However, I have a more informed sense of where I can go or to whom I can turn to get answers or guidance for the many complicated aspects of this park project.
AV: As an engineer, what are some of the coolest parts/aspects of the project that you are looking forward to the public learning about?
DH: As an engineer, this project offers so many fascinating challenges to learn and overcome: the basic structural design and construction that will form the foundation of the park; the construction and traffic planning innovations that will be required to build it; the complicated stormwater engineering design need to capture and safely handle the rainwater and runoff that will fall upon the park surfaces; the landscape design, including the types of soil to be used for the park, the types of trees and shrubs, the building materials for the paths and other surfaces, and so much more, including the power, the lighting, water features we will incorporate into the final park design. In many ways, this project will be an engineer and an urban planner’s dream.
AV: Lastly, what are your personal goals as new CEO for the Midtown Connector Park? What do you want to see accomplished during your tenure?
DH: My key goals are (1) to successfully develop a coalition that will build and operate the park and (2) identify and accumulate the fund sources and funds sufficient to begin construction of the park. What happens beyond this, in terms of my involvement, will be left for the future.