MARTA and Atlanta to move forward with Five Points station renovation
The City of Atlanta and MARTA will move forward with a planned renovation of the Five Points station after a temporary delay.
The two parties reached an agreement to keep one entrance open to allow for pedestrian street-level and elevator access on Forsyth Street.
The $230 million project was originally set to begin in July, but in June, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens asked MARTA to delay construction until the completion of an audit into the More MARTA transportation expansion program after the city’s chief financial officer flagged concerns related to the audit. The program’s half-penny sales tax, approved by Georgia voters in 2016 to fund a number of capital projects, is funding the renovation.
The city released the results of the audit in mid-August. The audit found that MARTA had overcharged the expansion program by $70 million, which MARTA disputed. MARTA General Manager and CEO Collie Greenwood did agree with the audit that the resequencing plan and 2020 Intergovernmental Agreement needed revision.
According to MARTA Director of Communications Stephany Fisher, the current agreement to leave one entrance open for pedestrian access means that the original construction timeline will be extended. Fisher declined to provide further details on the construction timeline and added there were no changes to the budget to reported at this time.
“I’m proud to announce that MARTA and Mayor Dickens have agreed to move forward with the Five Points Transformation Project as originally planned,” Greenwood said in a statement. “This agreement will include a slight modification to allow for ongoing pedestrian access to Five Points on the Forsyth Street side of the station during the majority of construction. As plans are finalized, we will share more specific information about construction timelines, station access and customer accommodations. This is a win-win for MARTA, the City of Atlanta, and our customers as we move forward together to improve transit across our region.”
The Five Points Transformation Project aims to overhaul the station and improve navigation and pedestrian access. It plans to replace the concrete canopy with a new canopy to let in more natural light, create a centralized bus station and communal spaces, display public art, use sustainable practices and more.
Greenwood will formally announce the plan to move forward with renovations during a board work session on Thursday at noon.
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