Three development teams have turned in ideas for redeveloping part of downtown Atlanta into a transit hub and commercial district.
The Georgia Department of Transportation released summaries of the proposals Friday. They are part of the process to choose a master developer of a terminal to link buses, streetcars, commuter trains and inter-city rail, with a greenbelt and commercial-residential area above.
The DOT wants to attract private developers and money to build the project. The development team proposals mark the first major movement in the long-discussed plan to redevelop the “Gulch,” a tangle of parking lots and train tracks between the Five Points MARTA station and the CNN Center area.
DOT staff and advisors are expected to announce a preferred development team on Monday. Then, public hearings will be held before the DOT board votes on the choice in May.
Here are the proposal highlights:
*Atlanta-based Jacoby Development (of Atlantic Station fame), with Chicago’s John Buck Co. and other partners propose a "Capital Center,” with a grassy public square, a glass transit station and a tall tower with views of Centennial Olympic Park. They were the only ones to submit a drawing.
*Atlanta-based H.J. Russell and The Dawson Co., with Houston-based Hines and other partners, also propose an iconic tower, terminal and open space. They would give Martin Luther King Jr. Drive “a new level of importance."
*Atlanta-based Cousins Properties and The Integral Group with Forest City Enterprises and other partners, revealed less detail in their executive summary, with no specifics other than a transit station below ground and a mixed-used development above “driven by the market.”
To view the executive summaries, go to: http://www.dot.state.ga.us/. For updates on this and other real estate stories, follow us on Twitter.
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