Brookhaven Park Was Planned for Festivals Before the City Owned All of It

"I am excited that Brookhaven has secured the final piece of the puzzle to complete Brookhaven Park," District 3 Council Member Madeleine Simmons said in February 2025, the day after the City Council approved an agreement for the old DeKalb Services Center building at the center of the park.

Twenty months later, the park on Peachtree Road gets its biggest crowd since that deal. Brookhaven's fourth annual International Festival runs Saturday, Oct. 17, and Sunday, Oct. 18, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Brookhaven Park, 4158 Peachtree Road NE. It's the first time the festival has been held there. The move looks like a simple change of venue. The city's own documents tell a longer story. Brookhaven sketched this park as an event ground in 2018, back when it didn't own the front half and had no say over the building in the middle.

A plan written with a festival stage in it

The Brookhaven Park Master Plan is dated December 2018. Several of its priorities only make sense for a park expected to host large events:

• A route for festival and support vehicles laid out to protect the lawn
• Better utilities, lighting and event power
• A 40-by-40-foot stage pad with a truck turnaround
• Larger, safer parking
• An ADA-compliant paved loop, with open space kept as a priority

The same plan also called for invasive-plant removal, a renovated community garden, dog amenities and a full-size basketball court. Those were goals on paper, and the sources don't confirm that every one was built. The plan's intent is still clear: a neighborhood park that could also handle a weekend crowd. The bigger obstacle was ownership.

Why a 2018 plan waited until 2026

In 2018 the City owned only part of the land the plan covered. Getting the rest took three separate transactions:

1. The western parcel, 2016–17. DeKalb County transferred the roughly 12-acre back portion. Rough Draft Atlanta reported an Oct. 25, 2016 transfer that still needed federal approval, because the land had once held a Veterans Affairs hospital. Later reporting puts the completed sale in 2017, for $922 under the state's $100-per-acre statute.
2. The front parcel, 2022. In November 2018 the council approved a proposed $2.2 million purchase of about 7.2 acres along Peachtree Road. That deal fell apart over whether the tract qualified for the $100-per-acre price or required fair market value, and the dispute went to court. On April 26, 2022, the City Council and the DeKalb County Commission approved a settlement that transferred the front section to Brookhaven for $1. As part of the settlement, the City set aside $1.6 million from General Fund reserves toward a future county library in Brookhaven.
3. The building in the middle, 2025. DeKalb kept the services building after the 2022 settlement. Claratel Behavioral Health, known as the DeKalb Community Service Board until 2024, continued serving adults with developmental disabilities there. On Feb. 25, 2025, the council approved an agreement under which the City sent Claratel $5 million to help it secure a new facility, and the City took ownership of the building. Rough Draft reported that the $5 million came from SPLOST II. The City's 2026 adopted budget records that agreement as the moment Brookhaven "gained 100 percent control" of the park.

The money is uneven in a way that shows where the cost really was. The land itself changed hands for $922 and then $1. Getting full control of the park took a lawsuit, a $1.6 million library commitment and $5 million for Claratel's relocation.

What the bond money built in the meantime

Voters approved Brookhaven's $40 million parks bond in November 2018, the same month the master plan was being finalized. Brookhaven Park's share of the work was delayed by the ownership dispute until the 2022 settlement. The City's bond page listed $6 million in proposed funding for the park. The first $4 million was expected to go to Peachtree Road access, beautification and the dog park, and the page cautioned that bond money wouldn't cover every master-plan item.

Contractors mobilized in the summer of 2023. By April 2024 the stormwater, sewer and waterline work was nearly done, and crews had started on the parking lot and pavilions. Rough Draft reported a Nov. 25, 2024 ribbon cutting, and the City's progress page marked the bond work complete on Dec. 10, 2024.

The City's list of finished work:

• A larger parking lot
• A replacement playground the City calls one of the tallest in the U.S.
• A turfed play area, two pavilions and a new community garden
• Restrooms on the side away from the dog park
• On the dog-park side, a new pavilion, improved walkways, fresh turf and a dog splash pad

That's the context for Simmons's comment this fall that the park "is ready to show off some of its amazing improvements to a wider audience since the City became its official owner!" Families with young kids and dog owners have used the upgraded park for almost two years. The festival is the first time the whole layout gets tested by a two-day crowd.

The festival's third home in four years

The City describes the 2023 festival as its first major event along the Buford Highway Cultural Corridor. The 2024 edition was held at Corporate Square in mid-October, and the City estimated 7,000 to 8,000 attendees over the two days. In 2025 the festival returned to 1801 Corporate Boulevard by the Peachtree Creek Greenway, because the Corporate Square redevelopment hadn't started yet.

The City hasn't given a specific reason for this year's move beyond the park itself. Mayor Pro Tem and District 4 Council Member John Funny described Brookhaven Park as "easily accessible via MARTA and our provided shuttles." The Sunday 5K still runs on the Greenway near the old site, so the weekend now covers both ends of the city.

Planning the weekend

Admission to the festival is free. The City's lineup includes Olly Sholotan, a singer, songwriter and actor known for playing Carlton Banks on Peacock's Bel-Air. Cumbiatron headlines Saturday with a cumbia dance party, and the five-member K-pop group DROP headlines Sunday. The City has said more performers will be announced. The grounds will also have international food, art installations, a Kidz Zone and a global marketplace.

The 5K is USATF-certified and counts as a qualifier for the Northside Hospital Peachtree Road Race. Lily Pabian, executive director of We Love Buford Highway, said the race funds the group's free afterschool Buford Highway Orchestra Program, which has served 96 young musicians.

If you're taking the shuttle from Apple Valley Road, SIREN is on the same road. Michel Arnette's seafood and raw-bar restaurant was announced with an Aug. 18 opening date at 2700 Apple Valley Road NE, Suite 65.

The center of the park is still undecided

The building Simmons called the final piece is the one part of Brookhaven Park without a settled future. The council approved a resolution to demolish it on Sept. 9, 2025, after setting aside $500,000 for the job. When the City announced the agreement in February 2025, it said there were no immediate plans for capital improvements on the site.

Weeks later, the site turned up in a different discussion. In October 2025, the City and DeKalb County opened a survey on where to build a new DeKalb County library in Brookhaven. The three options were the current branch at North Druid Hills and Apple Valley roads, the MARTA parking lot behind City Hall that's planned for transit-oriented development, and the former Claratel site at Peachtree and Osborne roads. "We are beginning the demolition of the old Claratel building in Brookhaven Park," Simmons said at the time. The survey closed Nov. 30, 2025. As of early October 2026, we couldn't find a published tally or a final decision on the library site, so it's still possible the middle of the park ends up as open space, a library or something else.

The next public chance to ask about it is close. Simmons hosts a "Mondays With Madeleine" town hall on the City's proposed 2027 budget on Monday, Nov. 2, at 6 p.m. at Brookhaven City Centre, 4001 Peachtree Road NE.

Two more fall dates nearby

Saturday, Nov. 7, has two events on the calendar. In an Oct. 2 notice, the City moved Paint the Park to Nov. 7 because of inclement weather. It now runs 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Lynwood Park, 3360 Osborne Road. The City provides canvases and supplies, and King of Pops and face painting are part of the day. Prizes go to three age groups, and the winning paintings appear in the City's annual Paint the Park calendar. The same day, the Oglethorpe University Museum of Art holds a free Community Day. The museum reopened Aug. 25 with refreshed galleries and a $5 general admission fee, still free for ages 12 and under. Current shows include "Realism Revisited" in the Skylight Gallery and "Conversations with Collections" in the Shelley and Donald Rubin Gallery.

For Brookhaven Park itself, the open item after the festival weekend is the old building site, and the 2027 budget discussions in November are the next scheduled public forum.

Questions about how Brookhaven Park's next chapter could affect the streets around it, or what that might mean for your home? Heather Cummings follows these decisions block by block across Brookhaven, and she's happy to talk through what's on the table. Let's Connect.