The Georgia DOT has applied for a $22.5 million grant for the construction of a new Amtrak station at  the intersection of 17th Street and Northside Drive, near Atlantic Station.

Creative Loafing reported that the estimated cost of building the new facility would be approximately $39 million. Georgia DOT and Amtrak would provide the remaining funds in cash and the value of the land.

The Amtrak station in Brookwood opened in 1918 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Unfortunately a building doesn’t make it to that age without showing some wear. The parking lot in front of the building was closed to cars last month because GDOT  determined that the structure supporting it wasn’t sound enough to safely handle the weight load any more.

Although a new multi-modal transit station is planned for downtown near MARTA’s Five Points Station, completion of that project is likely to be at least a decade away. In the meantime, the state says that the small Brookwood station has already seen a 16 percent increase in passengers since 2009.

What do you think? Should the DOT, if possible hold onto any grant money they’re awarded to use for the construction of the MMPT, or to fix the existing station? Or is a new Amtrak facility important enough to make the investment now?