More than 100 years ago, viaducts were constructed in downtown Atlanta to alleviate traffic flow over the Western and Atlantic rail lines. With railroads first built there in 1853, this area served as the hub of all the city’s rail lines, and over the decades was home to several passenger rail stations.
In the 1970s, two historic passenger terminals were demolished as passenger rail service was reduced to a trickle due in part to the automobile’s increased popularity. The demolitions signaled the demise of passenger rail in Atlanta.
Today, what 19th-century locals had dubbed the “Gulch” sits empty and underutilized. It is the most visible and largest tract of undeveloped land in downtown Atlanta.
When the Atlanta international airport was first imagined nearly a century ago, the move was seen as ambitious, possibly risky, but undoubtedly game-changing.
Now as the world’s busiest airport, Hartsfield-Jackson has propelled Atlanta and Georgia to the forefront both economically and as a travel destination. It was one of the biggest economic engines propelling our region last century.
I believe with the new proposed Multimodal Passenger Terminal (MMPT), our region and state face a similar prospect for this century.
In late 2011, the Georgia Department of Transportation approved the Master Developer Agreement with Forest City Enterprises, Cousins Properties and The Integral Group (FIC) to begin laying the groundwork for the MMPT. Over the next two years, FIC, with the expertise of other local and national firms, will develop a conceptual design for the MMPT and funding options to make the development a reality.
We see the MMPT as a perfect opportunity to fill in this portion of Atlanta’s street grid while addressing regional and national transportation needs for the future, including both bus and rail.
Within the 119-acre study area, we can create a modern transit station that uses existing infrastructure and links it to future modes of transportation. The remaining acreage will be used to develop office, residential, retail and green space, thereby creating a new mixed-use, sustainable district — or neighborhood, if you will — in downtown Atlanta.
The renewed vitality of the Gulch will also extend to other places in the city by improving access to the historic Castleberry Hill, Vine City and Auburn Avenue neighborhoods, which before have been separated from the central business district by the Gulch.
Whether traveling by foot, bicycle, bus or rail, people coming to downtown Atlanta can use a future MMPT to easily access nearby sports and entertainment venues, restaurants, offices and more.
Perhaps most importantly, the MMPT will strongly address the proverbial thorn in our region’s side: traffic congestion. By convening multiple transportation options into one central location, the MMPT will reduce our dependence on single-occupancy vehicles and move us closer to being a city that wholeheartedly embraces public transportation.
Cities such as San Francisco, Miami and Denver have already launched their own iterations of the MMPT and in the process have attracted corporations to invest and developers to create quality projects.
This type of development will place Atlanta, once again, among the forerunners in transit, and furthers our reputation as a modern, forward-thinking city and state.
A.J. Robinson is president of Central Atlanta Progress and the Atlanta Downtown Improvement District.
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