Not all permanent, pre-World Cup changes around downtown Atlanta have made the biggest splash. But in some cases, they could go a long way in making a positive impression.
Case in point is the plaza redesign MARTA recently unveiled like a de facto welcome mat into downtown at its Garnett station, one stop south of the centralized Five Points transit hub.
MARTA partnered with Atlanta Downtown Improvement District and the Project for Public Spaces to remake a large, elevated concrete plaza that links Garnett station directly into Broad Street, which has undergone its own overhaul as a landscaped Complete Street into the reviving blocks of South Downtown.
The three-block Broad Street overhaul extends between MLK Jr. Drive and Trinity Avenue, where former street right-of-way now forms the plaza entrance.
Former state of MARTA's Garnett station exit into downtown, as seen in 2023. Google Maps
New plantings, seating, and tiled artwork around the MARTA Garnett station plaza today. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta
The private developers behind South Downtown funded the project’s design work, as led by Kimley-Horn & Associates, according to ADID. Primary funding sources for construction included Invest Atlanta Eastside Tax Allocation District bond funds, MARTA Station Rehabilitation Program funds, and City of Atlanta AURA Bond funds, while Trees Atlanta pitched in with new plantings.
Last summer, MARTA temporarily closed the Garnett station for platform and lighting upgrades, along with staircase repair, pressure-washing and heavy cleaning, and to apply graffiti-resistant coating to concrete surfaces. The project came as part of MARTA’s roughly $1 billion Station Rehabilitation Program that’s aiming to improve safety and aesthetics across all 38 stations over the course of multiple years.
In the gallery above, have a closer look at how MARTA’s welcome plaza into downtown came together in time for FIFA festivities.
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