ATLANTA — MARTA presented final plans on Thursday for a projected $260 million transformation of the Five Points MARTA station that planners aim to have done on time to showcase for the 2026 World Cup.
The planning has been in the works for about four years, with a goal now to get work started by August.
The main undertaking for the project will involve deconstructing the current brutalist canopy in place at Five Points and eventually replacing it with an open-concept canopy. There are several other elements involved in the project that will make the site more pedestrian-centric.
The plans were presented at the MARTA board meeting on Thursday (specific discussion of Five Points begins at about 12:30 in the video below).
MARTA has released several renderings of the vision for the project:
A cost breakdown by MARTA places the deconstruction and demolition of the existing structure at about $62 million, with the new canopy costing some $46 million and plaza and concourse level redesigns at about $23.5 and $20 million, respectively.
The total construction estimate comes in at about $203.5 million with another $50+ million allotted for professional service/soft costs and contingency expenditures.
A map of the general layout within the existing city street map can be seen below:
A step-by-step of the construction concept lists out the aims of the project:
- Remove existing concrete canopy structure
- Carve up more openings for light and air below the canopy in the existing plaza, which has limited openings
- Prioritize the new station axis and reconnect Broad Street and the Broad Street plaza extending out of the station
- Program the open space with distinct character and purpose
- New canopy to tie the site together
Several redesign elements focus on the outdoor areas around the station to make it a more communal space - including a community garden, pedestrian grove, play field and a terraced seating area.
According to the MARTA presentation, the design process began with eight options, at one point included as many as 13 and most recently was whittled down to five before they settled on the option presented Thursday, known as "Option 09A."