Mixed Use Development Planned at Avondale MARTA Station
MARTA and the City of Decatur are working together to develop land near the Avondale transit station into a mixed-used development.Broadcast Version
The development will be located just south of the station on East Ponce de Leon Avenue. Initial plans call for more than 600 apartments, some 70 condominium units and 25,000 square feet of retail space. 20% of the apartments will be used for affordable housing.
When the Avondale station first opened, it was the end of the rail line, so MARTA built plenty of parking.
John Crocker, MARTA’s Director of Development, says the transit authority no longer needs as much parking space and now wants to monetize 6.6 acres at the site.
“Right now it’s not taxable, because MARTA’s a nonprofit. It’s just used as surface parking,” says Crocker. “So when you come out of the station, you just see a surface parking lot. What we hope is you come out, and it will be a destination that will encourage people to come to Avondale rather just to come and park or to transfer to a bus.”
MARTA will lease the land to the Decatur Development Authority. The two have chosen Columbia Ventures to develop the project.
Plans are still in the early stages, but Crocker says the development could open as soon as the end of 2015.
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