FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 13, 2022
MARTA
AWARDS DEVELOPER JOINT VENTURE FOR MIXED-INCOME HOUSING TRANSIT-ORIENTED
DEVELOPMENT AT BANKHEAD STATION
ATLANTA – The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid
Transit Authority (MARTA) Board of Directors today approved a resolution
authorizing MARTA to enter into negotiations with a development joint venture
for the transit-oriented development (TOD) of the Bankhead rail station, the
western terminus of the Green Line. The joint venture is led by the Peebles
Corporation, one of the largest minority-owned real estate development firms in
the country, with a deep track record of public private partnerships, and
includes co-developer Exact Capital out of New York and local firms Third &
Urban and Bolster Real Estate Partners.
The Bankhead TOD is located on just under
five-and-a-half acres of land, along with air-rights above the station itself,
which sits at 1335 Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway. The rail station is adjacent
to the Microsoft proposed 90-acre campus development and is a half-mile
southeast of Westside Park. Other nearby development includes the Atlanta
BeltLine Westside Trail and the Proctor Creek Greenway in the historic Grove
Park community.
The development plan includes 495
multi-family housing units, with 148 of them designated as affordable at 80 to
120 percent of the area median income by zip code. The concept also includes
office and workshare space,
retail and a hotel, along with over an acre
of open space. To further support the type of mixed-use density that defines
successful TODs, MARTA, with support from Atlanta City Councilmember Dustin
Hillis, had the station rezoned to Mixed Residential Commercial District 3
(MRC-3), to align with the zoning applied to the Microsoft property and the
zoning presented in the City of Atlanta’s Transit-Oriented Development Plan,
which recommends that nine of MARTA’s rail stations undergo a proactive
rezoning to support higher density at transit stations.
“Bankhead Station is in a part of Atlanta
that is undergoing significant growth and land use changes. Our rezoning
efforts with the City and the station’s location within a Federal Opportunity
Zone make this TOD an incredible opportunity to provide affordable housing and
other community amenities convenient to transit,” said MARTA Interim General
Manager and CEO Collie Greenwood.
The Bankhead Station transformation project
is part of MARTA 2040, a decades-long several billion-dollar transit
improvement and expansion program. The project includes a platform extension
from two-car to eight-car capacity (matching the capacity of the other 37 rail
stations), and other modifications necessary to accommodate the subsequent
increase in rail cars and customers. Last year the Georgia General Assembly
approved a $6 million appropriation toward the transformation of Bankhead
Station, in support of the economic development taking place in surrounding
areas.
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