Smyrna residents can expect a flurry of new amenities and updated public spaces, following the City Council's ambitious planning retreat in January. Fans of the local splash pad will be pleased to hear that the feature is getting a makeover, according to the city's official announcement, transforming from a dual splash pad/reflecting pool into a singular, more child-friendly splash pad.
The council also plans, to overhaul the playground by the library, catering to toddlers and adding a convenient new bathroom. Additional seating and shade structures are slated to accompany the refurbished water feature, "which will have more jets added," as reported on the city's Parks & Recreation page. The updates to downtown Smyrna don't stop there, with a new parking solution trading a proposed parking deck for a surface parking lot, adding 70 downtown parking spaces and alleviating some congestion woes.
A notable transformation is taking place at the site of the iconic Smyrna First Baptist Church. The property, purchased by the city, is set for a major redevelopment envisioned to infuse the downtown with new retail, restaurants, housing, and greenery. The historic 1924 stone chapel will be kept for public use, a relic maintained amid the tide of modernization. Residents can engage in the planning through an extensive community engagement process, encompassing workshops, roundtables, and online surveys — a testament, to the council's commitment to citizen involvement.
The communal appetite for aquatics will be satiated with the Tolleson Pool rebuild. The design, influenced by input from over a thousand citizens, will feature a heated competition pool, a family recreational pool, a lazy river, and additional amenities, according to city announcements. The project won't be a small splash financially either, with costs estimated between $16 - $18 million, but it's an investment in community recreation expected to be worth the wait when it opens in May 2027.
With the advent of summer, the Riverline Park Splash Pad is gearing up for a soft launch, signaling the culmination of a project initiated by former Ward 7 Councilmember Lewis Wheaton and carried through by his successor, Councilmember Rickey Oglesby, Jr. The park update is a bright spot for Ward 7 as it heads into the warmer months.
Development is not confined to leisure and recreation. The IGO Church Property is slated for a civic building, and the city is weighing its options for the Emory Hospital Site, exploring potential partnerships to enhance its recreational offerings. While the initial plan called for a city pickleball facility at the Castellaw site, the latest approach leans towards a blended model of pickleball courts complementing the comprehensive redesign of the Emory site.
Looking forward, the upcoming 2028 SPLOST is anticipated to inject approximately $85 million into the community with an emphasis on recreation but also infrastructure and public safety initiatives. Nonetheless, the South Cobb Drive project, a significant overhaul running up to $40 million, is another critical development, partially funded by Federal sources but still needing an additional $10 million to fully realize the vision set to transform the corridor beginning in 2028.
