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Tampa's Train Station Forges Ahead

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By JANIS D. FROELICH, The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 25, 2007

Updated: 12/24/2007 11:12 pm

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, 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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