Commercial Investment Real Estate September/October 2017 | Page 14
CCIM
Q& A
Transit Guru
by Sarah Hoban
W
12
September | October 2017
an integral part in development models, now and going forward.”
Slaton talks about his experiences with MARTA and
TOD in Atlanta, as well as sharing insights with Commercial
Investment Real Estate.
CIRE: What role does a transit agency, such as MARTA,
play in transit-oriented development?
Slaton: The agency often has excess property or underutilized
property that’s adjacent to transit facilities. What we’re looking to
do is re-adapt those assets to higher and better uses. We typically
enter into a joint venture agreement with developers, and they’ll
put a mix of uses on a property.
One example is Lindbergh Center, where our office head-
quarters are located, and there’s also other office space, retail,
apartment, and structured parking. This is the first TOD that
MARTA undertook, and we looked at this as a model and are
implementing this strategy with other transit stations, which
have excess or underutilized real estate next to them.
Typically, MARTA owns the land, and we’ll enter into long-
term ground leases with the developers. They’re usually 99-year
ground leases where we get a coupon payment and appraisal
resets. As a result, we can capture some of the upside in the
increase in the property value after it’s developed.
CIRE: How did you get into mass transit real estate?
Slaton: I’ve been in commercial real estate for roughly 20 years.
COMMERCIAL INVESTMENT REAL ESTATE
ith urban living booming, new and improved rapid
transit has become critical nationwide. In cities
such as Atlanta, more residents want to ride trains
to the office.
“When you talk about mass transit — here in Atlanta and
worldwide — we’re really starting to realize the importance
that it plays,” says Richard Slaton, CCIM, director of real estate
for the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid
Transit Authority. “Not only from a
quality of life or an environmental
standpoint, but also from a real estate
value standpoint.”
Slaton oversees all aspects of the
transit agency’s real estate functions,
such as managing the agency’s real
estate portfolio; handling land-
use issues; and managing compli-
ance with federal, state, local, and
MARTA regulations.
Richard Slaton
Also, Slaton plays a key role
in planning and executing transit-oriented development on
MARTA-owned properties. “With the strong population
growth and clogged traffic, developments with access to public
transportation add tremendous value to the real estate, but they
also open up different opportunities for development that sur-
rounds mass transit,” he says. “So I think mass transit is becoming