Commercial Investment Real Estate is the magazine of the CCIM Institute, the leading provider of commercial real estate education. CIRE covers market trends, current developments, and business strategies within the commercial real estate field.
Issue link: http://cire.epubxp.com/i/870737
COMMERCIAL INVESTMENT REAL ESTATE 12 September | October 2017 Transit Guru by Sarah Hoban W 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. 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 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. CCIM Q & A Richard Slaton Waring Abbott/Getty Images