(rshsdepot) New London, CT

[Bernie Wagenblast <brwagenblast_@_comcast.net>]

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DON_jw.jpg
http://www.eoneill.com/library/touring/images/1b.jpg  (1910)
http://www.rootsandroutes.net/images/pcard3.jpg  (color postcard)

For-sale sign down on Union Station while owners consider what to do next
By David Collins The Day
Published on 05/21/2002


New London - A real estate listing for Union Station, the signature building
on the city's waterfront, has been put on hold indefinitely, but an agent
who has been marketing the property says the owners would still consider any
new purchase offers that arise.

The 114-year-old train station, designed by legendary architect Henry Hobson
Richardson, was put up for sale last year, after a city-sponsored plan to
turn it into a visitors' center unraveled.

The station was widely marketed throughout the Northeast, and there was some
serious interest in the building but no successful purchase offers,
according to Jim White of U.S. Properties in New London, the broker who
handled the listing. The asking price was $2.37 million.

White said Monday the partnership that owns the building, with principals in
Boston and Washington, recently decided to take it off the market while they
decide what to do next.

"However, the owners would always consider a serious offer," White added.

The city's plan to buy the station and use it as a visitors' center was
scrapped after Gov. John G. Rowland backed away from a proposal to help fund
the purchase and renovations with state bond money. With $5.5 million from
the state, the city had hoped to purchase the station for $2.2 million and
use the balance for improvements.

In return, the state Department of Environmental Protection would have
operated its Thames Maritime Heritage Park visitors' center in the station,
rent-free, for 20 years.

The visitor center plans are also indefinitely on hold, with no immediate
prospects for state funding, City Manager Richard Brown said Monday.

The red brick train station at the foot of State Street has about 23,000
square feet of vacant office space, located on the second and third floors,
above the main lobby area. The office space is in good condition, according
to White.

The lease with Amtrak has expired and the railroad is renting space in the
station on a month-to-month basis. The lease with Greyhound, which uses part
of the station for a bus depot, expires in 2004, White said.

Among those expressing an interest in the real estate listing were groups
interested in buildings designed by Richardson, White said, and the owners
would like to continue to preserve the historical integrity of the building.

It will also surely remain the city's train station, he added.

"I'm sure it is everyone's vision that it will also always be the central
train station for New London." White said. "I don't think anyone ever
thought it would be anything different."


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The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org

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