Buckhead is known for polish, energy, and constant reinvention. Yet for years, one of its busiest corridors has felt like a place you passed through rather than a place you enjoyed. That is exactly the gap the Buckhead Boardwalk, officially the Lenox Boardwalk, is built to close. This new multi-use promenade and linear park along Lenox Road is changing how people experience the heart of Buckhead, on foot, on bike, and in everyday life.
At The Agency Atlanta, we love spotlighting projects that do more than look good on a map. The Boardwalk is a quality-of-life play, the kind of investment that quietly transforms a neighborhood’s rhythm. Whether you live nearby, commute through the district, or are considering a move to Buckhead, this is one of those upgrades worth knowing by name.
A clear picture of what the Buckhead Boardwalk is
The Buckhead Boardwalk is Section I of the Lenox Road Complete and Safe Street initiative led by the Buckhead Community Improvement District (BCID). It adds a 10 to 12-foot multi-use trail and landscaped linear park along the west side of Lenox Road, connecting the Lenox MARTA station area at East Paces Ferry Road to Peachtree Road near Lenox Square.
In practical terms, it gives pedestrians and cyclists a wide, continuous, clearly defined route through a stretch that historically prioritized vehicle flow. In emotional terms, it makes the corridor feel more human. Think smoother movement, better separation from traffic, and a streetscape designed to be inviting rather than purely functional.
BCID describes the Boardwalk as an urban linear park, and that matters. This is not a narrow sidewalk retrofit. It is a purpose-built promenade meant to be part of the neighborhood’s public realm.
Why Lenox Road needed this kind of rethink
Lenox Road sits at the crossroads of everything Buckhead does best: major retail, offices, hotels, transit, and proximity to some of Atlanta’s most established residential pockets. Yet the experience of moving through the area on foot has not always matched its prominence. The corridor carries heavy traffic and includes the complex GA 400 interchange, which can be intimidating for pedestrians and cyclists.
BCID’s Complete and Safe Street plan, originally envisioned through community planning in 2017, is an answer to that mismatch. The idea is simple: if Buckhead is going to function as a true urban center, its streets should support more than cars. The Boardwalk is the first visible piece of that long-range shift.
The Boardwalk as lifestyle infrastructure
It is easy to read a project description and picture a trail. What is more interesting is how it changes everyday behavior:
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A better arrival at transit. MARTA riders coming into the district get a calmer, safer path to shops, offices, and dining.
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Short trips that stay short. A coffee run, a quick meeting, or a lunch break no longer requires defaulting to a car.
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A more social corridor. Wide promenades naturally encourage strolling, casual meetups, and outdoor lingering. Linear parks do not just move people, they invite them to exist in public space.
This is why cities invest in projects like this. Not because a trail is trendy, but because walkability and connection create neighborhoods people want to live in for the long term.
The bigger plan behind the Boardwalk
Section I is only the beginning. The Lenox Road Complete and Safe Street initiative is a three-part transformation of about 1.25 miles of Lenox Road.
Section I: The Lenox Boardwalk (now underway)
The multi-use trail and linear park from the Lenox MARTA station to Peachtree Road.
Section II: Streetscape upgrades toward Phipps Boulevard
Planned improvements pick up where the Boardwalk leaves off, including wider sidewalks, upgraded lighting, new ramps and stair connections, and a more cohesive streetscape feel.
Section III: The elevated pedestrian and bicycle bridge over GA 400
This is the headline phase: a sweeping shared-use bridge designed to carry people safely over the Lenox Road and GA 400 interchange, which can be up to ten lanes wide at points.
Section III also serves as the gateway to HUB404, the planned nine-acre park that would cap GA 400 and reconnect parts of Buckhead currently split by the highway.
Collectively, these phases are intended to turn Lenox Road from an obstacle into a connector.
A natural partner to PATH400 and HUB404
The Boardwalk is not a standalone amenity. It is another link in Buckhead’s expanding trail and park network.
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PATH400 already provides a long north-south multi-use spine through Buckhead, and Section III of the Lenox project is designed to connect into it.
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HUB404 aims to be one of Atlanta’s most ambitious public spaces, a highway-capping park that would create new green connections across GA 400. The elevated bridge makes that vision reachable on foot and bike.
If you zoom out, you can see the neighborhood trend clearly. Buckhead is building a future where greenways, trails, and people-first design are central to its identity, not side features.
What to expect as it takes shape
Large civic projects take time, and BCID has been advancing the Lenox Road vision for years. Recent funding and construction progress mean the Boardwalk is now a tangible, on-the-ground reality.
The full multi-phase effort is significant in scale and cost, with multiple agencies involved including the City of Atlanta, MARTA, and GDOT.
That level of collaboration is a strong signal that the district sees this as essential infrastructure, not a nice-to-have.
How to experience the Boardwalk today
You do not need a plan to enjoy it, but here are a few easy ways to make it part of a Buckhead outing:
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Start at Lenox MARTA. Walk north along Lenox Road toward Peachtree Road. This gives you the clearest sense of the Boardwalk’s role as a direct, comfortable connector.
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Pair it with Lenox Square. The Boardwalk is designed to stitch the station and the mall area together with a more pleasant pedestrian experience.
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Loop into the wider neighborhood. Once you reach Peachtree Road, you are steps away from Buckhead’s dining, retail, and surrounding side streets, perfect for building a relaxed urban walk into your weekend routine.
Over time, this corridor will feel less like a boundary and more like a spine.
Why this matters for homeowners and buyers
From a real estate lens, people-first infrastructure tends to have a compounding effect. It improves daily life now and shapes the reputation of a district later. Even if you never bike the route, you benefit from living in a place designed for easier movement, more public space, and stronger connections between destinations.
The Boardwalk also highlights something Buckhead continues to do well: evolve without losing its character. It is still the Buckhead everyone knows. It is simply becoming a version that is more connected and more enjoyable to live in.
If you are considering a home in Buckhead, especially near Lenox, Peachtree, or the PATH400 corridor, the Boardwalk is a meaningful part of the neighborhood story. It adds lifestyle value, and it signals ongoing investment in the district’s future.
Buckhead’s next chapter is happening in plain sight
The Buckhead Boardwalk is one of those projects that looks modest on paper and feels transformative in practice. A wide trail becomes a reason to walk. A linear park becomes a reason to linger. A safer crossing becomes a reason to connect neighborhoods that used to feel separated.
Buckhead has always been a destination. The Boardwalk helps it become something even better: a place that is easier to live in, easier to explore, and easier to love.
If you want to talk about homes that put you near Buckhead’s growing trail network, or if you are curious how these improvements fit into the neighborhood’s long-term direction, The Agency Atlanta would love to help.
Connect with us anytime, and follow along for more Buckhead spotlights at @theagency.atlanta.
