MARTA Finds New Revenue Niche in Ground Leases

ATLANTA-Looking to find more than $550 million to fund $1.8 billion in capital projects by 2007, the Atlanta transit authority has aggressively started leasing land on 50-year leases or more near its stations around the metropolitan area.

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.