(rshsdepot) Tampa, FL

[I95BERNIEW_@_aol.com]

From today's Tampa Tribune.
 
Merry Christmas!
 
Bernie Wagenblast
 
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 
 
 
Tampa's Train Station Forges Ahead
 
Tampa Tribune, 2007-12-25
 
By Janis D. Froelich
 
Dec. 25--TAMPA -- It's easy to get swept away with the  nostalgia of a train 
ride. Jennifer O'Connor certainly is.  
On a sunny afternoon, the concert musician stood on the Amtrak platform at  
the Tampa Union Station hugging her parents, Jim and Eileen, and exchanging  
multiple goodbyes before heading back to New York City.  
"I flew in to Tampa to perform, but I really prefer to ride a train so I'm  
doing that now," said O'Connor, who paid $113 for a one-way ticket.  
The trip is 25 hours. But O'Connor, toting her acoustic guitar, uses the time 
 to think, write and enjoy the journey.  
"She does this a lot," her dad said.  
For Mary and Roosevelt Ousley and their 2-year-old grandson Tyrone, a train  
ride is a means to an end, but a fun one.  
Roosevelt Ousley works in Tampa's shipyards, but his wife visits regularly  
from their Jacksonville home, often bringing Tyrone along for company and good  
cheer.  
They were told they would arrive in Jacksonville about 8 p.m., almost six  
hours after leaving Tampa.  
"I hope there aren't too many stops," Mary Ousley mused before her husband  
bid them farewell as they boarded the train and he headed back to work.  
All these comings and goings at Union Station wouldn't be possible if the  
city hadn't stepped in 10 years ago. The brick station, built in 1912, was so  
run down it had closed in 1982.  
Then the city was awarded the building at 601 N. Nebraska Ave. by the rail  
freight company  _CSX_ 
(http://www.industrywatch.com/pages/iw2/coOverview.nsp?coID=178&ID=iw&scategory=Transportation&P=&F=&R=&VNC=hnall) ,  which still owns 
the platform area.  
It was hardly a bargain. The city and a nonprofit group, Tampa Union Station  
Preservation and Redevelopment, spent more than $2.6 million renovating the  
site.  
On May 30, 1998, the city held a grand reopening.  
Fast forward almost a decade, which is where Herb Fecker, the city's real  
estate manager, comes aboard. He's trying to do more with the property than just 
 lease space to trains coming and going, although he's quick to say, "Amtrak 
is  an excellent tenant."  
Fecker recently won city council approval to rent space to Highland  
Properties, a small commercial real estate company that plans a two-person  office in 
the former baggage building.  
He said the space includes two offices -- one of 3,500 square feet and the  
other about 1,000 square feet -- but hasn't been occupied for years because  
there's no water, sewer or air conditioning. There are lights, however, and  
artists' groups use the area for storage, gallery space and events.  
For the property to produce steady revenue for the city, Fecker said it will  
require about $20,000 in improvements. He declined to reveal how much rent  
Highland Properties will pay until the mayor approves the deal.  
Fecker hopes to have the new tenant in place by March.  
"We're pleased to get them in there," he said.  
Because of Union Station's historical status, the exterior can't be altered.  
Fecker said he's confident modernization of the interior is practical and  
possible. He said the biggest challenge is what to do with the large loading  
dock doors where wagons used to roll in with the baggage.  
"They will have to be encased so the air conditioning doesn't seep out," he  
said  
Fecker said three railroads, Atlantic Coast Line, Seaboard Air Line and Tampa 
 & Gulf Coast, originally converged at Union Station.  
In the past year, the number of passengers on the four trains that travel  
from Miami to Tampa to New York City has grown, Amtrak spokeswoman Tracy Connell 
 said.  
Almost 75,000 passengers boarded in Tampa during the fiscal year ending in  
September, up from about 61,000 for the previous fiscal year. Two Silver Star  
and two Silver Meteor trains pass through Union Station daily, Connell said.  
"Must be gasoline prices or people wanting the convenience of riding a  
train," she said.  
For the city, the upkeep of Union Station is constant.  
"So we need to be more proactive in leasing out this space," Fecker said.  
He also is looking for tenants for second-floor space with a conference room. 
 Fecker said Mayor Pam Iorio planned to host her holiday party there.  
Reporter Janis D. Froelich can be reached at (813) 835-2104 or jfroelich@  
tampatrib.com. This story appeared in one or more of The Tampa Tribune's  
semi-weekly community papers. To read more community stories, go to  
community.tbo.com 





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