Atlanta, Georgia – A place once used for incarceration and agricultural labor could take on a different role in Atlanta: somewhere to walk in nature, learn about the past and make room for reflection. The challenge is giving the former Prison Farm a public future while preserving the history that makes the land significant.
Residents can see how that vision is taking shape on November 16, when the city presents a proposed master plan for the property. The free, two-hour event is open to everyone, including people who live far from the site.
Atlanta’s Department of Parks and Recreation will host the final presentation of the Restoration Memorial & Preserve Master Plan on Monday, November 16, from 6 to 8 p.m. The gathering will take place at The Overlook at the Oakland Visitor Center, 374 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive SE, Atlanta, GA 30312.
Near Intrenchment Creek in southeast Atlanta, the former Prison Farm carries a complicated history involving incarceration, agricultural labor and changing uses of the property. The city is exploring how to acknowledge that past while creating opportunities for public recreation, environmental restoration, education and healing.
Those goals put both the land and its history at the center of the planning effort. The proposed transformation would give residents a place to enjoy nature and connect with their community, while also offering space to learn and reflect. Preserving the property’s story is part of the city’s vision for its future.
The environmental work also reaches beyond the site itself. The project aims to strengthen the surrounding South River watershed, linking the property’s future with protection of an important part of Atlanta’s natural environment. That makes restoration another central purpose of the effort, alongside recreation and remembrance.
Throughout 2026, the city has worked with community members, stakeholders and planning experts to study the property and consider what it could become. The November 16 presentation will bring together the research, community engagement and proposed master plan developed through that process.
For residents, the event offers a chance to understand how those pieces fit together: what planners have learned about the site, how community involvement has shaped the vision and what the proposal could mean for future use of the land. The master plan is intended to help guide future decisions about the property.
Although the event is described as the final presentation, the site’s transformation remains a proposal. The gathering will show the planning work and possibilities under consideration for a property whose future involves both public access and preservation of its past.
Attendance is not limited to nearby neighborhoods. The city is inviting residents from across Atlanta to learn about the former Prison Farm and the direction being explored.
Residents can register for the free public presentation through Eventbrite. More information is available on the city’s Restoration Memorial & Preserve project page. The November 16 event will give the public a closer look at how a place marked by incarceration could become a setting for nature, remembrance and community connection.
