(rshsdepot) King Street Station (Seattle, WA)

[I95BERNIEW_@_aol.com]

From today's Seattle Times.
 
Bernie Wagenblast
 
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

$1 deal struck for King Street Station
By Bob Young
 
Seattle Times staff reporter
 
Seattle's King Street Station is a big step closer to a $29 million  
renovation now that Mayor Greg Nickels has struck a deal to buy the historic  train 
station for $1.
 
If approved by the City Council, the deal would speed restoration of the  
station from eyesore to polished landmark. The station's renaissance is seen as  
a boon for Pioneer Square and two proposed developments in the area. City  
leaders also hope a makeover of the 100-year-old station would encourage more  
people to take passenger trains.
 
"We want to create a train station we can be proud of. Now it's pretty  
embarrassing to have a station in that state of repair," Deputy Mayor Tim Ceis  
said.
 
City officials say no strings are attached to the tentative agreement the  
council's transportation committee will take up today. The station's owner, BNSF 
 Railway, wants to unload the property, city and state officials said.
 
The historic station is a protected landmark, so the company can't sell the  
property to a developer. And the station needs expensive repairs the company  
doesn't want to take on. "It's kind of a drag to them. It's not an asset they  
can convert to cash," said Ron Sheck, urban-rail-program manager for the 
state  Department of Transportation.
 
BNSF officials couldn't be reached.
 
The city began negotiating with the railroad company about a year ago to  
acquire the property near Qwest Field, after talks between the state and BNSF  
stalled. Nickels and the council included $10 million for the station in  
Proposition 1, the $365 million property-tax levy voters approved Nov. 7 for  street 
repairs and other transportation improvements. That money would be added  to 
$19 million the state and federal governments have earmarked for King Street  
Station.
 
The $29 million would renovate the station's roof, brick exterior,  
first-floor interior and its 242-foot-tall clock tower. The money also would pay  for 
earthquake safeguards and a plaza leading to the station from Fourth Avenue  
South and South Jackson Street.
 
The station already has undergone $2.5 million worth of repairs using the  
state and federal money, Sheck said.
 
Ceis estimated it would cost an additional $15 million to renovate the  
station's second and third floors, money that has not been set aside. Council  
Budget Committee Chairman Richard McIver has voiced concerns the station could  
end up costing the city more than projected. 


Still,  Jan Drago, chairwoman of the council's transportation committee, said 
the city  should "seize the opportunity" to buy and beautify "a historic icon 
and gateway  to the city."
 
Sheck and Ceis said tests show no major contamination or hazardous waste on  
the site. "All of our work indicates no major problem. It's been thoroughly  
vetted," Sheck said.
 
Craig Montgomery, executive director of the Pioneer Square Community  
Association, said he was excited by the pending deal. "King Street Station's  
importance to Pioneer Square can't be overstated," Montgomery said.
 
The station would enhance the appeal of two major projects proposed by  
Nitze-Stagen, a local development firm. Nitze-Stagen plans to build almost 1,000  
condos and apartments on the north half of the Qwest Field north parking  lot.
 
The firm also has floated a separate proposal to build a lid over railroad  
tracks south of King Street Station and develop office, retail and hotel towers 
 on the property between Fourth Avenue and Qwest Field.
 
"We think King Street Station is the linchpin. It's the hole in the  
doughnut. It's important for our potential clients and residents that the issue  is 
getting solved," said Kevin Daniels, Nitze-Stagen's president.
 

Bob Young: 206-464-2174 or _byoung_@_seattletimes.com_ 
(mailto:byoung_@_seattletimes.com)  

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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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