(The following article by Pablo Lopez was published by the Fresno Bee on July 8.)
FRESNO, Calif. — Fresno is moving forward with its $6 million plans to restore the historic, yet dilapidated downtown Santa Fe train depot on Tulare Street across from City Hall.
After years of negotiations, the city last week received ownership of the train station from Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Co. The city paid the railroad $460,000 for the depot and freight office and $343,000 for the surrounding vacant land. In addition, it gave the railroad $225,000 to offset moving costs to a new facility in Calwa.
The city’s parking fund will cover $568,000 of the $1,028,000 price tag. The other $460,000 came from state grants.
Bids to renovate the depot, which last served as a passenger terminal in 1966, will be accepted this summer. Construction should begin in late October and be completed by August 2004.
The city has the $6 million for the restoration project. Much of the money comes from legislation, created by former Sen. Jim Costa, that gave Fresno $4.9 million for the depot. The state Office of Historic Preservation gave an additional $100,000 and the California Pollution Control Financing Authority gave a $316,337 grant. Amtrak paid the rest.
Once completed, Amtrak will use the bottom floor as a passenger rail stop. Currently, Amtrak uses the freight office as its depot. The city plans to enter into a 20-year lease agreement with Amtrak to provide passenger rail service at the restored depot, said city project manager Robb Wood.
The city also wants to entice private enterprise to build restaurants, a museum or offices on the second floor, he said. The city plans to turn the vacant land on both sides of the tracks into landscaped parking.
The California Mission-style depot was completed in 1899 to serve the San Francisco and San Joaquin Valley railroad, which evolved into the Santa Fe, and then the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe.
In addition to restoring architectural features such as arches and a tile roof, the city wants to bring back a clock tower that was part of the original depot. They’re searching for the missing clock.
“We would love to locate it,” Wood said Monday. “Rumor has it, the clock is still in the city.”
If the timepiece can’t be found, the city plans to construct a replica and install it in the tower, which is hidden from public view because the depot has had several additions.
Whether to rehabilitate the 25,000-square-foot, two-story structure has been hotly debated. The depot has deteriorated roof framing, reinforcement problems with the brick and concrete walls, seismic safety concerns and faulty wiring, according to engineering reports.
In the 1990s, city and county officials talked about constructing a new railroad passenger station. But after talks bogged down, the city moved forward with plans to renovate the depot.
“Fresno has always been too quick to destroy its history,” said former Fresno City Council President Henry Perea, a lifelong resident who remembers the destruction of the old county courthouse, Victorian homes and other landmarks.
Said Perea: “The depot is a great investment.”