Market Analysis: MARTA System Platform Retail

Prime Contractor: AECOM
Client: Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA)
Date: March 2014
Location:  Atlanta, GA

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Situation

The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) is
considering adding concourse- and platform-level retail amenities to improve passenger experience and diversify revenue streams. Dr. Charles Warren and the Toyon Group participated in an AECOM-led team, including Bleakly Advisory Group, Cushman & Wakefield, Global Concessions, Contente Consulting and Gude Management to evaluate the potential for retail concessions at major stations identified in a previous preliminary study.

Goals

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• Understand the best locations for retail within each station and the appropriates types (kiosks, newsstands, booths, etc) for each space.

• Estimate the cost of building out retail space and compare to potential rental revenues from vendors.

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Services

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• A basic vendor revenue model was constructed, using weekday and weekend ridership counts, household spending estimates, and conservative customer capture/conversion rates. Potential rents for platform- and concourse-level retail were estimated by using a survey of local retail rents in the submarkets immediately around the stations, rental rates on comparable transit systems.

• The team toured stations to develop site-specific estimates of construction costs including electrical and plumbing infrastructure and core-and-shell materials and labor.

Results

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• The team provided updated forecast revenue and expenses (both to vendors and to MARTA) for the stations selected, recommending an easily implementable and scalable pilot program.