Dirt From Sandy Springs Neighborhoods Planted At City Springs

SANDY SPRINGS, GA — When Sandy Springs Mayor Rusty Paul describes City Springs as everyone’s backyard, he means it — almost literally. The name and logo reveal for the project in September 2015, featured residents bringing in dirt from their neighborhoods with the various scoops of dirt collected and combined.

That collective soil is now planting material for the City Springs site, and city leaders gathered Thursday to formally embed this dirt onto the site of the downtown redevelopment project.

“While Atlanta has the Phoenix as a symbol, we have our own ashes-to-ashes or dirt-to-dirt story to tell,” Paul sid. “Sandy Springs is home to many amazing neighborhoods. With City Springs, we are creating a sense of place that will be the heartbeat of the city, and we want everyone from every corner of Sandy Springs to feel a connection.”

Since collected in 2015, the dirt has remained in its container on site under the care of the construction team. City Springs will be home to a four-acre park, but the collective planting soil will be used in another place with special meaning for the city and its residents. It will be a part of the landscaping along Galambos Way, named after Sandy Springs founding Mayor Eva Galambos.

“Without Eva’s vision and tenacity, we would not be a city today," the city's second mayor added. "She began our efforts to create a place where the community could come together, so it is fitting that this literal and symbolic collaboration takes place on the street named after her and leading up to City Hall."

Following a year-long, community-wide planning process, the City Center Master Plan was adopted by the City Council in December 2012. Mayor Galambos provided the ceremonial “first bite” with a grapple claw December 2013, to begin demolition on the site that now houses City Springs.

City Springs is a 14-acre mixed-use development that will include a performing arts center, conference center, four-acre green space, residential, retail and city offices. City Springs was developed as a comprehensive Public-Private Partnership between the city, Carter and Selig Enterprises.

Design and build partners include Rosser International (architect), Holder Construction and jB+a (landscape architect). Spectra by Comcast Spectacor oversees management and rental of the performing arts center, meeting spaces and City Green.

Photo 1: Pictured left to right: Sandy Springs Mayor Rusty Paul, Councilman John Paulson, Councilman Gabriel Sterling, Councilman Chris Burnett, Councilman Ken Dishman.

Photo 2: Sandy Springs residents drop off dirt collected from their neighborhood during the naming celebration in September 2015.

Photo credits: city of Sandy Springs