(rshsdepot) Jamestown NY

[jdent1_@_optonline.net]

From the Jamestown Post-Journal...

Railroad Renovation To Begin In 2007

By JOHN WHITTAKER

10/6/2006 - The words spoken by Lee Harkness, Downtown Jamestown Development Corp. executive director, and Mayor Sam Teresi are music to U.S. Rep. Brian Higgins’ ears. 

Harkness told Higgins work on the former Erie-Lackawanna Railroad Station will begin early in 2007, a sign of progress on the long-awaited renovation project. 

In fewer words, Teresi, too, had the words Higgins wanted to hear.

‘‘We’re moving.’’

Higgins, D-South Buffalo, was in Jamestown on Thursday to get a progress report on two projects receiving federal grant money — renovation of the former Erie-Lackawanna Railroad Station and the city’s downtown riverwalk. 

Dozens of city officials were on hand Thursday for an impromptu news conference in the train station before Teresi led Higgins on a tour of a recently completed section of the riverwalk. 

Higgins has helped acquire about $4.2 million in grants for the projects, according to Teresi. The payoff for that investment is coming, Teresi said.

‘‘I’m pleased to be part of this,’’ Higgins said. ‘‘The best way to get more money in the future is use the money you have properly and by getting these projects under way. I admire the work that is going on here and the public-private partnership you have.’’

Work on the train station renovation could begin as early as next spring, according to Harkness, now that enough money has been set aside. While the Jamestown Urban Renewal Agency owns the building, the DJDC is JURA’s designated developer for the project. Higgins recently secured $1.6 million for the train station project, in addition to a $325,000 grant through the Environmental Protection Fund and a $2.6 million federal grant from a federal transportation bill for the ‘‘river connector’’ project. 

Once finished, the train station is expected to provide a home for CARTS, be a place to buy bus tickets, a welcome center and an event space. While the station’s future lies in its ability to adapt to a changing city, renovation work has to live up to historic standards because the station is on the Preservation League of New York State’s Seven to Save list in 2000.

In addition to the work by Higgins and his predecessor, former U.S. Rep. Jack Quinn, the DJDC has held its Thunder in the Streets motorcycle rally the last two years as a way to raise money for the project.

‘‘It is my personal goal, and the goal of the Downtown Jamestown Development Corp., to finish this project,’’ Harkness said. 

The city has received several grants for the Riverwalk, including a $148,000 Environmental Protection Fund grant for Phase 1, a $150,000 Environmental Protection Fund grant for Phase 3 and a $210,000 Environmental Protection Agency grant for construction of a pedestrian bridge over the Chadakoin River. Eventually, the section of the Riverwalk that runs behind the train station will link the Riverwalk to both the train station and the rest of the city’s West End. 

While progress has been slow, Teresi and other officials said repeatedly on Thursday that the projects are moving ahead. 

‘‘I want you to know that your efforts on our part to secure resources for this and other projects are well placed,’’ Teresi said. 

Send comments to jwhittaker_@_post-journal.com

Jim Dent
Oakland, NJ
=================================
The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org

------------------------------

End of RSHSDepot Digest V1 #1433
********************************

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