Students eager to momentarily escape campus will soon be able to do so at a variety of new shops and restaurants in addition to a park that will come to Emory Village during the fall.
The Emory Village Park, which will occupy the area next to the abandoned gas station that was left vacant when N. Oxford Rd. was reconstructed to form the roundabout driving circle in Emory Village, will feature a grassy area surrounded by benches and trees.
According to Todd Hill, the chair of the Alliance to Improve Emory Village (AIEV), the park will open in approximately two months.
Ted Kelly, president of Architectural Fountains and Pools, will donate a fountain, which will be called the Mary Kelly Fountain in honor of his mother and his wife.
This fountain – which will serve as the centerpiece of the park – is being made from old trolley rails that were use as part of a trolley rail public transportation system in the Decatur area almost a century ago.
"For the benefit of the students, it's going to be a fun, active area," said Hill, chair of AIEV and landscape designer of Emory Village Park.
Hill explained that he hoped the area would become a popular hang-out spot for University students.
The opening of the new restaurant Romeo's New York Pizza in approximately two weeks provides students another dining option.
The family-owned pizza chain will sell pizza by the slice as well as by the pie in addition to salads, subs and beers.
"I'm not a regular pizza place," commented Gene Romeo, owner of Romeo's New York Pizza. "I'm a high-end pizza place with very low prices."
According to Hill, there are also plans to open a new sit-down restaurant in the empty lot next to Starbucks.
Hill also noted that the Village will be much safer for pedestrians due to developments in construction which include wider and more elevated sidewalks.
There will additionally be extensive new lighting and a newly constructed roundabout driving circle and brick crosswalks that will make it easier to navigate through the Village.
– By Harmeet Kaur
