Would you like to call Oakland Cemetery and the King Memorial MARTA station your neighbors? Would you want to work there? MARTA officials seem confident that many Atlantans would answer in the affirmative. The transit agency is seeking ideas for developing about 4 acres just south of the station that — of course — currently functions as a parking lot. The Atlanta Business Chronicle relays that MARTA has issued a request for qualifications for developers of apartments, condos, student housing, or offices — basically anything that would increase train ridership by virtue of proximity to the elevated station.
MARTA's casting call for builders is the agency's latest move in a broader push to develop underused lots that surround many of its train stations. Five sites have been identified as being ripe for transit-connected projects. Earlier this year, MARTA officials said the ripest appears to be the Avondale station, where officials hope development could kick-start the revitalization of East Decatur, a former warehouse district that's attracting creative office types and local microbreweries.
Regarding the King Memorial stop, the newspaper reports that MARTA officials will review the submitted ideas over the next month, narrow its list of potential developers and ask for more specific proposals in September. MARTA could opt to sell its parking lot land, or lease it to the chosen developer over the long-term. They'd be wise to market an obvious selling point, right around the corner: Daddy D'z BBQ Joynt.
· MARTA seeks ideas to develop King Memorial station [Atlanta Business Chronicle]
· Dusty Avondale MARTA Mixed-Use Plans Are Being Reborn [Curbed Atlanta]
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