ATLANTA — Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens announced Thursday that Atlanta Beltline Inc. had acquired the site of the former, troubled Elleven45 Lounge as part of the trail's expansion into Buckhead.
A judge shut down the club and declared it a nuisance -- a term also used Thursday by Mayor Dickens to describe the lounge -- back in August following a shooting on Mother's Day this year that left an Albany State volleyball player and another person dead.
The site, at 2110 Peachtree Road, will now transform into the Beltline's gateway to Peachtree Road in Buckhead as the trail's northwest segment gets constructed, Mayor Dickens said.
He called it a "2-for-1 experience with this acquisition," saying the "trail experience is going to be phenomenal" with the accessibility to Peachtree Road combined with the clearing of the lounge.
"You all know what's right there, former site of that nuisance club, Elleven45, so this land is now in the possession of the Atlanta Beltline and that's a good thing for Atlanta," Dickens said.
The construction of the northwest trail in and around Buckhead has always been one of the trickiest hurdles to clear for completing the full Beltline around Atlanta, as Beltine Inc. CEO Clyde Higgs noted Thursday that much of it needs to be built where there isn't available former freight rail right of ways to piggyback on, a feature of much of the rest of the trail.
The 4.3-mile northwest trail will ultimately run from the area of West Marietta Street and Huff Road at its southwestern tip to the area by the Lindbergh MARTA station at its northeastern tip.
Construction began this year on Segment 5 of the northwest trail at Marietta Blvd. and Huff Road, and Atlanta Beltline Inc. said Thursday that groundbreaking for Segment 1 -- which will run from Peachtree Parks Apartments south along Peachtree Creek -- occurred on Oct. 31.
"This property purchase brings the Beltline closer to realizing its vision of a fully connected, accessible and vibrant infrastructure, further enhancing the economic, recreational, and environmental benefits for Atlanta's residents and visitors," Higgs said in a statement of the land purchase.
Elleven45 was shut down after the City of Atlanta filed a lawsuit to close the business permanently, with a judge determining that, "Sufficient evidence was presented to demonstrate routine interference with the public safety, the public peace, the public comfort and the public convenience of this case based on numerous pervasive problems that were generated by or in around this lounge."
"These problems included the illegal sale of alcohol to minors and adults, the illegal permitting of patrons to use drugs, the outbreak of numerous fights including gunfights and stabbings, a failure to properly screen guests and the creation of dramatic traffic congestion, loud music and littering," Judge Rachelle Carnesale said in August.
Mari Creighton, 21, the Albany State volleyball player, and 20-year-old Nakyris Ridley were killed in the May 12 shooting at the lounge. Four others were injured.
The suspect in that shooting, Karanji Reese, was indicted in late August on 19 charges, including felony murder and murder.