At the Lindbergh MARTA station, for example, the new BellSouth office complex is bringing in $1 million a year in rent revenue and is expected to grow to $7 million by 2010 as the development increases the number of projects on its 99-year land lease, according to a published report.

MARTA will sell land for condominium ventures but generally prefers to receive the cash stream it can receive from long-term land leases on transit-oriented developments, area industrial real estate brokers tell GlobeSt.com.

The 30-year-old transit authority has been land-banking sites it acquired for nominal costs years ago. Brokers say MARTA is one of the nation's savviest developers of excess land or outparcels, largely due to its position of insisting on long-term leases rather than accepting a one-time lease payment for the dirt.