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(rshsdepot) Stockton, CA
From the Stockton Record=2E=2E=2E
$4=2E6 million face lift begins on train station
By Audrey Cooper
Record Staff Writer
Published Monday, December 9, 2002=20
Demolition has begun inside the old brick Southern Pacific depot, marking=
the beginning of a historic makeover that will enhance transportation and
renovate the east side of downtown Stockton=2E=20
The agency that helps run the Altamont Commuter Express trains plans to
restore the long-abandoned depot to its original 1930s glamour=2E=20
The depot renovation is the first of two planned transit projects that
double as downtown revitalization efforts=2E The other project -- a major =
bus
hub for the San Joaquin Regional Transit District -- is expected to begin
construction in the spring=2E=20
The two transit centers are just four blocks apart on Channel Street=2E=20=
The San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission, which operates the ACE trains
along with two Bay Area agencies, purchased the old depot in 2001 for just=
$236,000=2E That cost and the estimated $4=2E6 million renovation price ta=
g are
covered by Measure K, a voter-approved half-cent sales tax that goes towar=
d
transportation projects=2E=20
False ceilings, temporary walls and bad paint jobs over the past several
decades have covered much of the depot's original beauty, said Brian
Schmidt, director of rail services for the San Joaquin Regional Rail
Commission=2E=20
Behind those fa=E7ades there are still marble floors, high ceilings and
decorative moldings common in the celebrated train stations built around
the county in the early part of the 20th century=2E=20
"The goal is to bring the depot back to its historical grandeur," Schmidt
said=2E=20
The new depot, which will be named in honor of the late county Supervisor
Robert Cabral, a rail advocate, will have 17,000 square feet of space=2E I=
t
will be used for rail commission meetings, offices, and a lobby for ACE
passengers and riders of the Amtrak trains to and from Sacramento=2E=20
The depot should open by next fall, about 73 years after it first greeted
Southern Pacific riders=2E The railroad stopped passenger service in 1972 =
and
used the building as a storage site until abandoning it in the early 1980s=
,
Schmidt said=2E=20
Today, ACE trains start at the Stockton station in the morning and 21/2
hours later reach a renovated San Jose station=2E Those two stations could=
almost be used as a before-and-after picture, Schmidt said=2E=20
Downtown Stockton Alliance CEO Tim Viall was at a depot groundbreaking
ceremony a few weeks ago=2E He said the interior was neglected and worn=2E=
=20
"But that is going to be one grand, grand old station," he said=2E "It is
going to be another element to bring back the east side of downtown=2E"=20=
Viall said he hopes Greyhound will move out of its building behind the
Police Department and into the depot=2E=20
Transforming the Channel Street blocks into a transportation mecca will
attract businesses and people to the area, Viall said=2E=20
The San Joaquin Regional Transit District's bus hub -- planned for the
entire block bordered by Weber Avenue, and Sutter, Channel and California
streets -- also includes preserving a small part of Stockton's history=2E
Although most of the block will be razed, three storefront facades will be=
incorporated into the construction=2E=20
Tenants of the block will be relocated by Jan=2E 31, and groundbreaking ca=
n
occur soon after, transit district spokeswoman Kari Wilson said=2E=20
The project should take 18 months, she said=2E=20
"Obviously one of the things we want to do is enhance the community,"
Wilson said=2E "With these projects so close together, it will make a big
impact as it relates to renovating the entire downtown corridor," she said=
=2E=20
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