Work on the Beltline's connection to Historic Fourth Ward Park may begin in mere months — and there are renderings to prove it. Beltline spokesman Ethan Davidson said Wednesday that construction on "The Gateway" is expected to begin in early 2014. Progress is always good news, and this tidbit means the Eastside Trail will soon be connected to the 12 acres of greenspace, playgrounds and the World's Prettiest Retention Pond that make up Historic Fourth Ward Park. Judging by the renderings, The Gateway will be a winding, well-landscaped path with a sort of mini-park of its own.

Thanks to part of a $3-million grant from the Woodruff Foundation, the land for The Gateway — a 0.76-acre lot next to the Masquerade, south of North Avenue — was actually obtained by the Beltline folks on the very last day of 2012 and will be built out fairly quickly. Crews began burying utility lines for the project back at the end of June, a process that took about a month.

Otherwise, development news has been relatively slow regarding the Beltline of late, though the group did hire a CFO this week, and another corporation's CEO called it the Atlanta region's "next big step forward."

— By Curbed Atlanta contributor Tyler Estep

· $18M Grant Will Fuel Expansion of the BeltLine in SW Atlanta [Curbed Atlanta]

· CEO: Beltline Is Atlanta Region's 'Next Big Step Forward'