Five Points' extreme makeover

MARTA's Five Points station will shake off its hulking canopy — the one with the sign that seemingly hasn't worked for years — as part of a $200 million facelift.

Why it matters: After over 40 years, the Downtown hub — the only station where all rail lines converge — needs an update to serve riders and take advantage of a wave of development interest washing over the neighborhood.

Driving the news: Yesterday, MARTA received a $25 million boost from the federal government to fund the station’s makeover.

Details: MARTA's hired architectural firm SOM to draw up potential designs.

• The same firm is behind the Moynihan Train Hall at New York's Penn Station.
• All potential designs call for removing the Brutalist canopy. The mini-soccer pitch and community gardens, however, will remain a part of Five Points' next chapter.

Meanwhile, work will start on a $40 million upgrade of the platforms, escalators and lighting inside the station next month.

By the numbers: Most of the cash to build the project comes from the More MARTA sales tax, a yet-to-be-determined amount from state's Georgia Transit Trust Fund and the federal grant secured by Rep. Nikema Williams and Senators Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock.

The big picture: More than $6 billion in public and private cash will flood the area around Five Points over the next five years.

• MARTA officials want the footprint of the revived Five Points station to include space for future buildings and other developments.
• Plans under review by the transit agency and city officials call for reconnecting Broad Street for pedestrians but not for cars and other personal vehicles, a MARTA spokesperson tells Axios.

Intrigue: When Five Points was built in the mid-1970s, construction blasted a hole in Downtown and divided Broad Street.

• When the demolition dust clears, MARTA has an opportunity to create a better place for riders, pedestrians and bicyclists and the community.

What's next: Construction work will begin in 2024, transit officials say, and won’t interrupt bus and rail service.

• They hope to wrap up in 2028 — which means the 2026 World Cup matches in Atlanta will be exciting.

Editor's note: This article has been corrected to remove a reference to a state funding amount for the project. MARTA says the amount has not been finalized.