A developer has made an unsolicited proposal to MARTA for a Transit Oriented Development at Kensington Station at Mountain Drive and Memorial Drive, MARTA General Manager and CEO Jeffrey Parker told county commissioners on Tuesday.
Parker revealed the proposal at a Committee Of The Whole meeting of the Board of Commissioners. He said it is being reviewed by staff, which will make a recommendation to him. The MARTA board would then pass a resolution to issue a Request For Proposals.
Commissioner Lorraine Cochran-Johnson expressed concern about this process. "It sounds as if you would literally create an RFP if you like the proposal," she said. "To me that raises a little bit of a concern and a red flag."
She also noted that she and several other commissioners were not informed of the proposal earlier.
Commissioner Steve Bradshaw said he has known about the proposal for several weeks. "I get a monthly briefing from the MARTA TOD point person every month," Bradshaw said. "My next meeting with them is, I think, next Friday. Anybody is invited to attend."
Details of the development were not disclosed.
"Developers do like to provide information that is not subject to public disclsoure, so we need to evaluate that," Parker said. "We will begin a process to make sure that everyone is aware of our intention to put out an RFP."
In addition to the Kensington proposal, the Housing Authority of DeKalb County and MARTA have been discussing multi-family mixed-income housing near the Indian Creek MARTA station. Parker said MARTA has been talking with landowners adjacent to and near the Indian Creek station about their plans and the potential impact on MARTA property.
During his quarterly briefing to commissioners, Parker also noted that MARTA has hired a Chief of Bus Operations as part of an effort to improve bus operations. Collie Greenwood worked for the Toronto (Canada) Transit Commission from 1988 until this summer. For the last two years, he was the Head of the TTC's Bus Transportation Department.
Parker said construction began in August as part of a program to provide 350 bus-stop amenities in DeKalb County over a five-year period. Of 70 bus amenities to be given to the county in the 2020 Fiscal Year, 14 have been completed. Fifteen percent of county bus stops will have an amenity, and 56 percent of passenger boardings will occur at a stop with an amenity, a 10 percent increase, Parker said.
