Loridans Park is Livable Buckhead’s current major greenspace initiative, transforming a five-acre site in north Buckhead into an inviting and thoughtfully designed park along PATH400. The site includes the former D.F. McClatchey Elementary School property and the historic Lowery-Stevens Cemetery, both of which contribute to the park’s unique character and sense of place.
In 2018, Park Pride selected Loridans for its visioning program, launching a community-led planning process that invited residents, neighborhood groups, and stakeholders to help shape the future of the space. Through a series of public meetings and collaborative workshops, key design concepts emerged focused on preservation, improved access, enhanced landscaping, and passive recreation.
Since then, the site has made significant progress. An archaeological survey documented historic gravesites to ensure proper preservation, while volunteers have worked to clear debris and remove invasive species, helping restore the natural environment and prepare the land for future improvements. Today, Loridans Park stands as a growing example of community-driven planning in action, blending history, nature, and neighborhood vision to create a meaningful green space for Buckhead residents and PATH400 users alike.
The History of Loridans Park
Loridans Park began its transformation in 2019, when a five-acre site in north Buckhead started evolving into a future green space along PATH400. Located near Loridans Drive and GA 400, the area was once home to D.F. McClatchey Elementary School and the historic Lowery-Stevens Cemetery, a 19th- to early 20th-century burial ground serving early rural communities in the area.
A community-led visioning process guided the future of the site, bringing together local residents, Livable Buckhead, Park Pride, and neighborhood partners to shape a plan that honored both its historical significance and natural character. An archaeological survey identified up to 60 potential gravesites, more than previously known, leading to careful documentation and preservation planning.
Community volunteers played a key role from the start, clearing debris and removing invasive species to begin revealing the land’s true potential. What was once a hidden and overlooked space is now recognized as an important piece of Buckhead’s past and a cherished green space in the making.
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Loridans Park: From Vision to Reality
The City of Atlanta is putting its Moving Atlanta Forward bond dollars to work, and Loridans Park is receiving a major investment with $1 million dedicated to refreshing and advancing its vision. The City is updating the original park concepts, converting them into construction-ready drawings, and maximizing the remaining budget to deliver meaningful improvements on the ground.
This next phase builds on the park’s unique character and historic significance as one of Atlanta’s oldest family cemeteries, blending preservation with thoughtful design and enhanced usability.
Updated plans reimagine Loridans Park as a calm, layered landscape that prioritizes natural beauty, reflection, and accessibility. Enhancements include a redesigned entrance plaza with shade structure, benches, and bike racks, a winding natural trail, shaded clearings, and expanded garden areas.
The cemetery will be respectfully preserved through marked headstones, wrought iron viewing enclosures, and post-and-rope barriers that protect graves while allowing for interpretation and quiet visitation. Additional features include interactive art, interpretive history panels, wildflower and pollinator gardens, stormwater landscape improvements, sound wall greening, and new shade trees, alongside targeted invasive species management to support long-term sustainability
This investment moves the park from vision to reality, transforming design concepts into real improvements that will enhance the visitor experience and strengthen this treasured green space for years to come.
