Atlanta Botanical Garden Expands to Beltline

The $165 million expansion will make the 30-acre Garden directly accessible from the Atlanta Beltline by 2029.

Updated on Nov. 11, 2026 in Botany

Photograph of a paved urban trail curving through dense young hardwood trees and flowering shrubs with newly planted saplings beside a stone edge, tying into the Garden's Beltline access plan. — The Atlanta Botanical Garden is building a $165 million expansion that will connect its 30-acre grounds directly to the Atlanta Beltline by 2029. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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The Atlanta Botanical Garden is undertaking an expansion that will make the Garden directly accessible from the Atlanta Beltline, the city's first cultural institution with such access. The project will increase the 30-acre Garden by 30 percent and is funded by a $165 million capital campaign.

Why it matters

The expansion ties one of Atlanta's major cultural institutions to the Beltline trail network, opening the Garden to a wider range of visitors in the city. It also adds more than 800 new trees and hundreds of thousands of square feet of tree canopy.

The project is funded by a $165 million capital campaign and will expand the 30-acre Garden by 30 percent, adding more than 800 new trees. Construction progress and the allocation of funds among the project's components were not detailed in the extraction.

The players

Atlanta Botanical Garden

The Atlanta Botanical Garden is a cultural institution in Atlanta, Georgia, known for its botanical collections and public programming.

Mary Pat Matheson

Mary Pat Matheson is a public figure associated with the Atlanta Botanical Garden expansion project.

The details

The expansion includes a Beltline Plaza outside the gates for free programming and community events, and a new Visitor Center facing the Beltline with a café, gift shop, and bike parking. A Grand Axis will lead through the Water Terraces, Walled Garden, and a Foundation Garden.

2029: Expansion project expected to be complete.

Seasonal Patterns

The Atlanta BeltLine, a trail built on a former rail corridor, now connects residents to parks, transit, and cultural sites across the city. The Garden's direct access extends that network to one of Atlanta's established cultural institutions.

Visitors arriving by Beltline will be able to reach the Garden directly, with a café, gift shop, and bike parking at the new Visitor Center. The Beltline Plaza will host free programming and community events outside the gates.

The takeaway

Plan a trip to the Garden by bike or on foot via the Beltline once the expansion opens, since the new entrance is designed to be reached directly from the trail.