(rshsdepot) St. Johnsbury, VT

[I95BERNIEW_@_aol.com]

From today's Burlington Free Press.
 
Bernie Wagenblast
 
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 
St. Johnsbury converting old rail  depot

Published:  Tuesday, June 5, 2007
By Carla  Occaso
Correspondent

ST. JOHNSBURY --  Officials seeking to revive a sense of history have started 
transforming a  124-year-old Victorian railroad depot into a new welcome 
center with the help of  the Caledonia Community Work Camp. 

"It has been a long process," said  Joel Schwartz, the town's economic 
development director who also serves as  project manager. Trying to convert a 
building from 1883 to meet building codes  has presented challenges, Schwartz said. 
"We didn't know the extent we were  getting involved in structural work," he 
said. 

Burlington developer  Antonio Pomerleau in 2003 donated the historic building 
to the town for a public  information center, Schwartz said. The building 
used to house a restaurant and a  video store. It took several years to obtain 
funding to refurbish the interior  and bring the structure up to modern codes. 
When demolition started in November,  unforeseen structural damage was 
uncovered, prolonging the construction phase by  at least six months, Schwartz said. 

In taking down walls to put in a  full-service elevator, workers found 2-foot 
thick brickwork had been  "significantly compromised" over the years.

The workers are nonviolent  offenders from the St. Johnsbury prison who came 
in to perform demolition only.  They soon uncovered walls that were crumbling, 
cracked and full of holes, which  created additional structural work. Labor 
cost the town just $55 per day to pay  the town's portion of the supervisor's 
salary, because the work was done by  work-camp inmates. Inmates receive 
training and the opportunity to contribute to  the community rather than a paycheck. 

Once demolition and structural  work is done, the town will put the rest of 
the project out to bid among private  contractors. Schwartz said the town 
sometimes comes under fire for taking work  away from local contractors, but he 
counters that the project would never get  off the ground without the help of 
cheap work-camp labor. Although such  construction projects take longer than with 
contractors, results are  satisfactory. 

"They work six hours a day almost every day," Schwartz  said of the seven- to 
10-man crews. "They do outstanding work. Everybody who has  looked at the 
work has commented on the quality of it. It is a real asset to the  community to 
have that work force available for public projects." Schwartz said  the center 
- -- originally scheduled to open this summer -- is on track to open by  spring 
2008. 

. The original $900,000 estimated cost is being paid by six  funding sources, 
including the Connecticut River Scenic Byway, U.S. Agency of  Transportation, 
Vermont Agency of Transportation, USDA Rural Development, state  of Vermont 
Downtown program and the town of St. Johnsbury. 

Additional  work brings the estimated cost up to $1.1 million, Schwartz said. 
The completed  welcome center will serve as a showpiece of the town's 
Victorian railroad past,  said Darcie McCann, executive director of the Northeast 
Kingdom Chamber of  Commerce, which will oversee the center. Located less than a 
mile from the  junction of Interstates 93 and 91, the highly visible 
information and transit  center attracts tourists seeking tips on lodging, dining and 
local attractions,  McCann said. 

The 4,500-square-foot first floor also will display  artifacts from the 
heyday of the town's railroad past. Old photographs, a bell  and an old-fashioned 
ticket booth are among the items planned to enhance the  ambience. McCann said 
the center would offer brochures, bathrooms and a grassy  area for families to 
have picnics. 

"Our tourists truly get Vermont and  the Northeast Kingdom," McCann said. 
"They are coming for the Kingdom and for  what the region doesn't offer. The 
Kingdom is truly unique to other areas of New  England. The fact that we don't 
have a stretch of miles of box stores doesn't  bother them a bit," she said. 




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