A $750,000 federal grant will help catalyze affordable housing and other new development in southwest Atlanta communities historically starved for investment — including big changes by the Oakland City MARTA station on the south line.
The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) awarded the funding to MARTA so it can map out its grand vision for transit-oriented development along the planned Campbellton Road bus rapid transit line, which is slated for completion in 2028.
MARTA last year finalized its ambitious master plan for the redevelopment of the corridor’s environs, and the FTA grant will empower the regional transit authority to advance ideas outlined in the plan by identifying “opportunities to address food insecurity, affordable housing, the unsheltered, economic development, education, greenspace, stormwater management, and transit accessibility,” it said in a press release.
MARTA will use the FTA grant in part to figure out how to develop a critical component of the vision: Twelve vacant acres it owns next to the Oakland City train station, which neighbor a church, some townhouses, and an abundance of single-family homes.
“We’ve heard loud and clear from the community that they don’t just want another housing project,” said Jacob Vallo, MARTA’s assistant general manager of real estate development and asset management. Neighbors want — and need — affordable housing, sure; but they also desire food options, greenspace, education initiatives, and economic development programs to support new businesses and jobs throughout the corridor, he said.
The goal is to create mixed-income housing within high-density, mixed-use developments that add businesses, parks, and food providers — perhaps even a grocery store — Vallo said.
It’s too soon to say how MARTA and the private development partners it taps will deliver that mixed-use density, Vallo said, but it will likely include market-rate residences and rental units priced for low- and middle-income earners.
The FTA grant will also help MARTA determine how it will partner with private investors to finance the development. Delivering the affordable housing units, for instance, could require federal and state Low Income Housing Tax Credits or Atlanta Housing rent subsidies.
Adding denser development to the Campbellton Road corridor should also spur MARTA bus and train ridership for the area, Vallo said.
Right now, MARTA only owns the 12 acres near the Oakland City station along the planned bus rapid transit line, but it also has transit-use rights to the state-owned Barge Road Park and Ride, which is the western terminus of the Cambellton Road BRT line.
The FTA grant is for three years, but Vallo said he doesn’t think it will take that long to complete the corridor planning work.
Right now, he’s not sure whether the new bus rapid transit line or the transit-oriented development will get built first. “But they’re not dependent on each other,” he said. “We’re trying to deliver density as quick as possible.”
“MARTA is focused on delivering transit-oriented development before, during, and after the transit investment is made in a community and corridor,” Vallo added.
MARTA has broken ground on two other transit-oriented developments in the past six months at its Avondale and Kensington train stations. Both are near the end of MARTA’s east line in DeKalb County. Together, they will deliver more than 300 new affordable housing units, mostly for seniors.
Transit-oriented development plays an important role in Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens’ mission to produce and preserve 20,000 affordable housing units before 2030, the mayor’s top housing advisor, Joshua Humphries, said in an interview.
“Our goal, really from day one, has been to create high-quality affordable housing, and transit access is fundamental to that,” he said. “Expanding access [to transit] where it is underutilized is critical.”
This story was updated on April 15, 2024 at 5:06 p.m. to clarify that the 12 acres MARTA owns are part of its broader transit-oriented development vision, but not the main purpose of the federal funding for the Campbellton Road corridor.
Do you live or work on or along the Campbellton Road corridor? How would you envision development, including affordable housing? Let us know in the comments or send us an email at info@atlantaciviccircle.org.