On Oct. 13, the Brookhaven City Council voted to buy 1020 Mendell Circle, a lot of about 1.3 acres beside Lynwood Park. The city's announcement says the land will become part of the park and be protected from future redevelopment. The city bought 926 Devine Circle in late 2024, and the two lots together add about 1.8 acres to a park the city lists at 10.8 acres. That makes Lynwood Park roughly 17% bigger.
If you live off Osborne Road, the thing to know is what kind of acres these are. The new ground is protected greenspace, most of it standing woods, and the way the city paid for the Mendell Circle lot shows it plans to keep it that way.
Two Lots, Two Different Purchases
| 926 Devine Circle | 1020 Mendell Circle | |
|---|---|---|
| Approved | Sept. 10, 2024 | Oct. 13, 2026 |
| Size | About 0.5 acre | About 1.3 acres |
| Price | $500,000 | $750,000 total investment |
| Funding source | General fund | Stormwater Fund and Tree Fund |
| Condition at purchase | Empty lot | 30 to 40 specimen trees |
Rough Draft Atlanta reported in September 2024 that the Devine Circle lot was empty. The council paid for it from the general fund, and Mayor John Park said the goal was to "expand our parks." A city spokesperson told the outlet that Brookhaven's policy is to grow its existing parks when the lots next to them come up for sale. A later city budget summary says the Devine Circle lot will remain greenspace.
Do the math on the reported figures and Devine Circle cost about $1 million an acre. Mendell Circle comes to under $600,000 an acre, and it brings a stand of mature trees with it.
Why Stormwater and Tree Money Paid for It
Devine Circle came out of the general fund. Mendell Circle is being paid for from Brookhaven's Stormwater Fund and Tree Fund, and the city lists three reasons for the purchase: saving greenspace, protecting tree canopy, and helping manage stormwater in District 1. Neither reason has anything to do with new courts or a new pavilion. Both depend on the trees staying where they are.
The city's list of what grows on the lot reads like a guide to a Piedmont forest. American beech, tulip poplar, red maple, Northern red oak, Southern red oak, white oak, hickory, linden or basswood, big leaf magnolia, black cherry, and loblolly pine are all there. So are a number of understory, midstory, and overstory plants. City Arborist Jeff Dadisman explained why a grown stand is worth buying:
"Preserving a stand of mature trees protects benefits that cannot be quickly replaced by new plantings, including shade, habitat and natural stormwater functions."
District 1 Councilmember Michael Diaz tied the purchase to something nearby. In the same city release, he said he had watched "the recent loss of mature trees at the nearby Devine Circle due to development." He added that while the city can't undo those losses, "these acquisitions will expand Lynwood Park by nearly two acres, preserving dozens of mature trees and protecting this natural area for future generations." Mayor Park described it as protecting greenspace "as Brookhaven grows."
In other words, the city paid to keep a stretch of old canopy standing, and it used money set aside for exactly that.
What the New Acreage Doesn't Come With Yet
So far, the city's announcements have given no opening date, no trail, and no plan for either lot. The stated purpose is to keep the land from being built on. For the near future, the expansion will look like more woods at the park's edge where houses could have gone.
That matches the park's current amenity list. The city's Lynwood Park facility page lists basketball and tennis courts, a community center, greenspace, a multi-use field, a picnic shelter, a playground, and a swimming pool. A trail is not on the list. The busy part of the park is already built. The new acreage keeps a wooded buffer around it.
The Park That's Already There
The active side of Lynwood Park is fairly new. The city's budget summary says the park reopened with voter-approved Parks Bond improvements in summer 2023, including a new lap pool, a splash pad, and a turf field.
The biggest change this fall is indoors. In September, Brookhaven Parks and Recreation added free pickleball drop-ins at its recreation centers. At Lynwood Park, 3360 Osborne Road, sessions run Mondays and Wednesdays from 5:45 to 8:45 p.m. The other location is Briarwood Park, which runs daytime sessions on Tuesdays and Thursdays. That makes Lynwood the evening option for anyone with a day job. Athletic Manager Davian Oglesby called the sessions "a fun and easy way to try something new and get to know the community." The city also lists open gym, Walk and Talk, and adult basketball runs among its free recreation center activities.
The park's history is part of the reason the city keeps putting money into it. Brookhaven named Lynwood a historic neighborhood in October 2020. The city's latest release calls Historic Lynwood Park one of the oldest historically Black communities in DeKalb County, established in the early 1930s. It describes the Lynwood Park Recreation Center and the park around it as gathering places for residents, families, and returning generations with ties to the community. This year's Lynwood Park Community Day was held May 2. It included a neighborhood parade, a program on the area's history, a health fair, and local artists and vendors, and the city estimated about 750 people came.
Nov. 7 Brings Paint the Park to Osborne Road
The next big event at the park was supposed to happen somewhere else. Rain postponed Brookhaven's Paint the Park in early October, and the city moved it to Lynwood Park. Here are the details:
- When: Saturday, Nov. 7, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- Where: Lynwood Park, 3360 Osborne Road
- Supplies: The city provides canvases and art supplies first-come, first-served, and artists may bring their own
- Extras: King of Pops and face painting
- Judging: Prizes in three age groups, 7 and under, 8 to 13, and 14 and up
- The prize that lasts: Winning paintings appear in the city's annual Paint the Park calendar
The timing works well. By early November, the beeches, tulip poplars, and oaks on the park's edges will be in their autumn color. A painter at an easel has the same view of the canopy the city just spent $750,000 to protect.
Two Deadlines Before Then
Two Brookhaven dates fall this Saturday, Oct. 31, before Paint the Park comes around.
- The Brookhaven Farmers Market's last Saturday of the season. The market runs 9 a.m. to noon, and its 2026 season ends Oct. 31. Explore Brookhaven lists it at 1375 Fernwood Circle.
- The Tinsel Trail registration deadline. Registration for Brookhaven's Holiday Tinsel Trail closes Oct. 31. Decorated trees go up from Nov. 16 to Dec. 1 at Blackburn Park 2, Skyland Park, Langford Park, and along the Police Department side of the Peachtree Creek Greenway.
After those two dates, the next thing on the Lynwood Park calendar is Paint the Park on Nov. 7, with canvases on the field and the newly protected trees along the edge.
I watch what happens around Brookhaven's parks closely, because a protected stand of trees next door shapes a street for decades. If you own near Lynwood Park and want to talk about what the expansion means for your block, Shanna Bradley would be glad to walk it with you. Book an appointment and we'll start at Osborne Road.
