4 New MARTA stations are coming, but where?
Welcome to my newsletter, King Williams. I am a documentary filmmaker, journalist, podcast host, and author in Atlanta, Georgia. This newsletter covers Atlanta's hidden connections and everything else.
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Four new MARTA stations are coming to Atlanta*
Monday, Mayor Andre Dickens announced that four new in-town MARTA stations will be coming to Atlanta. The announcement was part of the mayor's annual State of the City Address, during which the mayor addressed several issues, including the city’s continual crime reduction and ‘Cop City.’
But the biggest surprise came from his announcement of four new infill stations in Atlanta, the first in 24 years. The details of the expansion were limited, but the early enthusiasm showed support for the idea.
This announcement comes after years of setbacks to transit expansion, including the death of former MARTA CEO Jeff Parker, a pandemic-induced decline in ridership, two close failures of expansion into Gwinnett County, a stalemate in Clayton County on building rail, a massive curtailing of the More MARTA initiative, alongside paring down of two light rail projects: Campbellton Road and the Emory corridor into bus rapid transit.
Despite the significant setbacks, the hunger for more transit in Atlanta and the metro hasn’t waned. Last month’s MEGA MARTA map went viral. Despite the map not being real, the public response was very supportive.
You can read more on the MEGA MARTA map + history of transit before MARTA in my February 2024 newsletter: MEGA MARTA
For Mayor Dickens, the surprise announcement comes as a snowball of recent positive development highlights, including last week’s green light of a new mixed-use residential and commercial project at Murphy’s Crossing was given the go-ahead, which will also be one of the four new MARTA stations.
2. Murphy’s Crossing and the new direction of Atlanta’s real estate development
Monday’s announcement of four new MARTA stations, one of which is Murphy’s Crossing, hints at where Atlanta's development is heading. It also signals how transit will play a more prominent role.
What is Murphy Crossing?
Murphy Crossing is the languishing south Atlanta cluster of abandoned and dilapidated former factories and industrial buildings, some of which date back to World War II. The site is off Main Street, just past the West End MARTA Station. It is next to the mixed medium/mixed-use coworking space CreateATL, 1.5 miles from Carter USA’s revamped factory project, The MET, and within walking distance of the brewery district Lee + White.
In 2021, it seemed like a developer would take on the project. After that deal stalled, the site has languished chiefly for three years. The new Murphy Crossing project will be helmed by Culdesac, the urban planning company that’s gained national notoriety for its people-first, car-free planned community in the Tempe, Arizona suburbs.
Culdesac will bring its ideas to Atlanta with a community with a more appealing footprint and better mass transit connections. MARTA is now on board, near walking trails with the Atlanta BeltLine and a major restaurant and bar district about a mile away at Lee + White. However, unlike the Tempe, Arizona site, it is doubtful that there will be zero parking spaces.
3. The other three potential new MARTA stations
All four stations are in-town stations. The move comes as MARTA needs expansion, and anything outside of the city limits would likely come with more hurdles. The move would be the first expansion of new stations since the 1980s. For Mayor Dickens, this gives him a series of wins a year before re-election and prepares Atlanta for the World Cup in 2026.
For more on Atlanta’s World Cup preview, please check out my previous newsletter: Atlanta is set for the World Cup 2026
The other new MARTA stations
Only Murphy Crossing was announced yesterday, leading to speculation as to what the other four could be. What is known is that the four new stations will all be intown, infill stations, likely serving as connection points between some of the hottest and fastest-rising in-town markets.
Each station is the transit and economic connection point that can’t be replicated by another highway or wider roads, bucking the decades of suburban design strategies that have defined Georgia’s commercial real estate scene. It now signals that transit, especially micro-transit, will eventually be the anchoring feature of development and continuing growth.
Building heavy rail has helped in the past
If history is any indicator, MARTA's expansion, especially for heavy rail, will bring new development and become the anchor for the area.
The AJC maps out four likely places where a station could go—accounting for Murphy Crossing. There are possibly three additional spots in Atlanta. Twitter user @snekposts created a secondary map highlighting where these would-be new stations sit within the current MARTA rail system.
Each potential station would be built around clusters of new commercial and residential development, giving each station a better chance of success. The move would be a callback to the 1980s era of MARTA expansion.
4. The (immediate) future of MARTA is intown
Yesterday, MARTA CEO Collie Greenwood confirmed that these are four new sites. Greenwood also confirmed that these sites will not be impacting the streetcar expansion to the eastside section of the Atlanta BeltLine via Ponce City Market or the Summerhill BRT station.
Five Points Station revamp (HR/BRT)
Five Points MARTA station is in the midst of a revamp. The revamp is for two reasons: first, the 2026 World Cup, and second, the building’s supporting structures are approaching concerning status.
The $200 million+ cost, alongside a shift from some projects from the More MARTA plan being scrapped, has drawn criticism. The project is needed but faces a downtown Atlanta real estate market still on shaky ground.
For more on downtown Atlanta real estate, please check out my two-part entry on South Downtown:
Atlanta Streetcar Expansion (LRT)
The plan started during the Reed administration. That initial plan was for four additional transit nodes in downtown Atlanta, but funding never emerged. Since then, the project has been ridiculed for its lack of effectiveness and ridership. This expansion would be the first time since the Reed administration that a mayor would build new transit routes.
The issue of rail on the BeltLine is a continuing fight. While the streetcar’s extension to the eastside portion of the BeltLine is happening, funding for the remaining 22-mile loop is still TBD. Due to a lack of state-level support and MARTA’s limited finances, the only real shot of rail happening is if Georgia Senators Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff can secure funding. There is a possibility this will happen as both have recently raised over $150 million in funds for the highway capping park project downtown, The Stitch.
The light rail project would bring a much-needed inner transit corridor to the most popular and well-known section of the Atlanta BeltLine. If successful, it could attract more residents, developers, and in-region tourists who would buy into having a mass transit system.
Summerhill’s Bus Rapid Transit Center (BRT)
Summerhill’s BRT center is a case of the old Atlanta way of handling transit. The project was an Obama-era funding initiative, the TIGER grant program, initially giving funds to create the Atlanta streetcar a few years earlier. The city of Atlanta then received another $12.6 million in Tiger funds in 2018 to aid in the creation of a BRT station in Summerhill, which a year prior changed ownership of the biggest land parcels in the area (the stadium + parking lots) from the Braves to Georgia State University and Carter USA.
Due to its long gestation period and rising pandemic-related costs, the project has had to curtail some of its original design. It broke ground in 2022 and is expected to be completed by 2025.
5. Areas that Murphy’s Crossing could impact
The new development will benefit neighborhoods like Adair Park, Oakland City, and Capitol View. Nearby West End, Main Street, and South Atlanta will also benefit from this project, signaling that SW Atlanta is still viable for new real estate development.
The 20-acre Murphy’s Crossing residential project would bring sorely needed new housing units, 1,100 based on initial estimates, more than every rental and apartment home created in nearby Summerhill over the last five years.
That could eventually decrease overall rental pressure in the area. In addition to signaling that Adair Park, Oakland City, and especially the high vacancy, Main Street could be built for more significant capacity real estate developments.
The MET
The 1,100-unit site would also be a boon to the nearby redevelopment site, The MET, from developer Carter USA. The site has managed to endure the pandemic but has suffered from a lack of new residential development, the uptick in some new townhomes nearby, and Culdesac’s project, which would bring in potential new local customers.
Due to its proximity by car, foot, bike, and already existing MARTA bus routes, the short 1.5-mile corridor between The MET (top right) to Murphy’s Crossing and Lee + White district (both bottom left) signals that clustering is the move.
Lee + White
Lee + White is the nearby brewery and nightlife district for this section of southwest Atlanta. Both a symbol of progress and gentrification, Lee + White has been the hub of activity for people new to the neighborhood and those looking for a brewery/food-n-beverage experience on the city's south side.
The Murphy Crossing plus the new MARTA development address two pain points of Lee + White: 1) a lack of easy connections to MARTA for would-be workers or guests, and 2) a new growth of nearby residents to frequent the district as the area is over 90% single-family homes.
While the area benefits from its location on the southwest portion of the Atlanta BeltLine, where it receives massive capital for its development, the region still lacks the punch of new activity despite having Lee + White.
The Cascade Kroger shopping center
Moving further west, the nearby Kroger shopping center has been quietly rumored for years to be potentially redeveloped or sold. Located at the tip of the southwest section of the BeltLine at Lee Street and Ralph D. Abernathy Blvd, where it turns into Cascade Road, the site could be a new anchor of a similar micro-community development or more housing.
This development at Murphy’s Crossing, combined with the expansion of Lee + White, could finally be the impetus to decide what happens to the plaza. This decision could lead to a sale and complete renovation of the area, which sits on the SW section of the BeltLine.
Over the years, this Kroger has been a lightning rod for residents and passersby, as the large number of homeless and low-income people who use the shopping center causes discrepancies. The store has encased an entire section in glass to deter theft.
This move has caused some people not to frequent the store and incorrectly cite the area as a food desert. Many residents drive further to avoid smaller grocery stores such as Westview Grocery and the more prominent but controversial Abernathy Kroger for shopping in Summerhill or further down Cascade Road.
Westview
This could also impact the nearby neighborhood of Westview, an area with some reinvestment but that has mostly not felt the same impact as other parts of the city. Westview has been a community that’s experienced gentrification, new development, and reinvestment but nowhere near the levels of other parts of SWATL. This could be an opportunity to avoid the pitfalls of those different locations by being ahead of the curve.
The area is known for its collection of upstart, small-footprint restaurants. It also has a local grocery store in Westview Grocery and a local food-n-beverage incubator, The Ke’nekt. In addition to being a hub of a local Kipp Charter School with direct access to the Atlanta BeltLine, the area is still one of the pockets of potential for commercial and residential development.
Should the growth trickle further from Murphy’s Crossing and the Abernathy Kroger be redeveloped, the area could be in for a new wave of speculation due to its relative lack of development, available plots of land, and housing.
CreateATL and the Murphy Ave corridor of businesses
CreateATL is a mixed-use, mixed-medium facility with 1/3 co-working space, 1/3 maker space, and 1/3 events facility. CreateATL is one of the few businesses along Murphy Avenue that already exists but lacks overall awareness and foot traffic. Many of which are furniture and upstart retail.
Murphy Avenue is one of the few direct connection points along the southwest section of the BeltLine. It also has multiple available parcels of land that could be used for additional developments without displacement or competing businesses.
6. Conclusion
Combining the four new in-fill stations with the Atlanta Streetcar’s expansion, Five Points MARTA station revamp, and Summerhill BRT (bus rapid transit) terminal finally coming online is the start of a longer overdue expansion of transit services.
For MARTA and Mayor Dickens, this is a pivot in which both have decided that something is better than nothing. While the state Department of Transportation (GDOT) and the state GOP leadership have been very anti-transit, anti-pedestrian, and anti-Atlanta by deliberately not funding transit or supporting expansion, Monday’s announcement signals a future focused on Atlanta without the approval of Georgia’s antiquated leadership.
Atlanta hasn’t had any new lines in 24 years! It’s been long overdue, but the idea of going smaller, in places where people actually live, work, and play, is a good start. All aboard!
Four new stations are a start. Here’s to hopefully forty more!
-KJW