One year after Hurricane Helene made landfall, the storm's impact is still being remembered — even 300 miles inland, where Atlanta faced widespread flooding and power outages. But one neighborhood that used to be devastated by high water stayed dry: Vine City.

Thanks to a $40 million investment, Rodney Cook Sr. Park protected the community from the type of flooding that once forced water into homes.

Atlanta City Council member Byron Amos, who was born and raised in Vine City, remembers when the neighborhood used to sit under several feet of water.

"At this very intersection, there was probably a little more than six feet of water," Amos said. "Unheard of in Metro Atlanta, but six feet of standing water, of course, was in people's houses."

Amos worked with the Trust for Public Land to turn the problem into a solution. The idea: build a park designed to absorb stormwater and keep it out of basements and crawl spaces.

"When water is rerouted through the neighborhood to this site, the pond fills up, and the rain gardens, other green infrastructure throughout the park houses water to be collected and basically take the load off the city's stormwater system," said Jay Wozniak with the Trust for Public Land.

When Hurricane Helene hit in 2024, that design was put to the test. The park collected nine million gallons of water.

"People were calling, 'The park is flooding! The park is flooding!' and my response was, 'It's doing its job," Amos said.

Within 72 hours, the water had disappeared, leaving behind dry homes and a safe community.

The park, however, is more than just a sponge. It's a gathering spot for neighbors and wildlife, complete with play areas, walking paths, and even donated climbing rocks from North Face.

"[It's] someplace the family can gather, and for the first four years, and I tracked it ... It's been the number one spot for prom pictures," Amos said.

Of the $40 million needed to build the park, the Trust for Public Land contributed $14 million, the City of Atlanta $26 million, and 150 donors chipped in the rest.

Amos says he hopes the city will build more parks like this across Atlanta, projects that protect neighborhoods while creating places for families to come together.