$12 Million Plan
City Close To Putting Train Station Project Up For BidBy Kristen Johnson kajohnson@post-journal.com
Article Photos
What could $12 million get you?
Perhaps a ''modest'' mansion in one of America's more upscale ZIP codes. If real estate doesn't tickle your fancy, you could, as a New York investment banker once did, pay $12 million for some contemporary art - in the banker's case, a decaying, stuffed shark carcass. If you'd rather not have shark carcasses in your home, you could instead purchase a wedding dress covered with 150 carats worth of diamonds.
Or you could pay to renovate the historic Erie-Lackawanna train station on Second Street and turn it from an abandoned, decaying building into a veritable poster child for urban renewal.
That's what the city of Jamestown, along with the Downtown Jamestown Development Corp. and the Jamestown Urban Renewal Agency, is planning to do with money it has put together from grants and the sale of tax credits.
GOING STRONG
Nearly two years into the project, it's only slightly behind schedule - a feat of near-epic proportions when dealing with a project of this scale.
Mark Schlemmer, a project engineer with the city's Department of Public Works, said the project will be put up for bids in early November, only two months behind schedule. Even so - provided everything goes according to plan - the project will still be completed in June 2011, he said.
''It really hasn't set us back at all,'' Schlemmer said of the delay. ''As far as the construction schedule goes, we'll be asking the contractor to get his permits and things a little more quickly than we normally would to make up for the lost time. The design on the project is 99 percent complete. We've just got some things to modify and then we'll give it a final review, send the documents to the printer and advertise for bids.''
The historic Art Deco landmark was built in 1931 and has been named one of the ''Seven to Save'' historic locations in New York. It has been vacant since 1973 and for years, city officials, the DJDC and JURA have together been working on renovating the structure and turning it into a multi-use downtown hub.
There are big plans for the building. The trio wants to turn it into a permanent transfer station for the Chautauqua Area Regional Transit System, or CARTS. The building would house an indoor information and ticket booth and would also be a central operating point for taxi cabs and other modes of transportation. Space would also be included for a Jamestown Welcome Center that's within walking distance of the downtown shopping and business district. In addition, city officials are pursuing commercial and retail tenants who would eventually occupy space in the wings of the train station.
Schlemmer said there are two parts of the renovation project - the renovation of the building and the construction of a Riverwalk connector.
THE PROJECT'S COST
What will the city, the DJDC and JURA get for their $12 million? Quite a bit, Schlemmer said.
He said the group has spent about $677,000 on the preliminary design, which he said is only about a third of the overall design process, and environmental studies on the project. All of that work was completed last year, he said, and was done by Elma, New York-based TVGA Consultants.
''We have a $1.1 million contract with TVGA Consultants and Wendel (Duchscherer Architects), who is our prime architect,'' he said. ''Thus far, we've spent about half that amount on the final design work. TVGA will also be on board with us for construction management.''
The most recent estimate for the project, Schlemmer said, puts the project's cost at $10.2 million.
Officials have broken the project up into three phases, the first of which is stabilization. An estimated $4.5 million will be spent on that phase, Schlemmer said.
''We're going to do roof work, fix the exterior brick and block, secure the structure, and demolish and remove everything inside that needs to come out,'' he said. ''This phase doesn't include work on the windows. Basically during this phase we're going to get the building back to a secure, safe structure.''
Next, officials will spend an estimated $4.8 million on the building's restoration.
''This is the bulk of the work,'' Schlemmer said. ''You incur a huge expense when you're restoring an historic structure like this because you're very limited as to what you can do and the materials you can use. In some cases, you'll have to recreate things that have gone missing over the years, and some of that has to be done by hand. There's a lot of time and money in restoring an historic building.''
The restoration phase will include new windows and doors, Schelmmer said. The train station is divided into three sections - a central concourse and two wings to either side. During the restoration phase, workers will completely revamp the concourse by redoing the marble, stonework and original copper lighting fixtures and adding new public restrooms and an overlook gallery area.
''When it's done, you'll walk into this train station and it will look like it did back in the 1930s,'' Schlemmer said. ''It all has to go back to its original appearance.''
The project's third and final phase will include a renovation of the building's east and west wings, on which officials will spend an estimated $800,000.
Schlemmer said the group would do only minimal on the wings because they will eventually be used for commercial and retail tenants.
''We're basically going to get these areas cleaned up and in presentable shape,'' he said. ''We'll also make sure there's updated lighting, heating and cooling. That way, whoever comes into those spaces can pick up where we left off and do what they need to do. Each tenant will do its own uplift. There's some beautiful, wide-open space in those wings for development.''
Finally, officials will spend another $850,000 on what Schlemmer called an ''interesting'' expense.
''It's a little odd - in order to get money, we have to spend money,'' he said. ''We'll spend $850,000 on tax-credit syndication costs, which is the fees and costs we incur to sell tax credits. There are fees involved with that, mostly related to paying interest back to an investor that has purchased those credits.''
FUNDING THE PROJECT
Officials are still searching for funding, Schlemmer said, though most of it is already in place.
The trio has secured $7.1 million in grant money through the Federal Transit Authority and the Federal Highway Administration, he said. Some of that money, which represents the sum total of four different grants, was spent on environmental work and design costs.
Another grant, through the New York State Environmental Protection Fund, is worth about $651,000. And some local foundations - the names of which Schlemmer is not yet at liberty to release - have committed the $850,000 necessary to sell tax credits associated with the property.
''That only adds up to about $8.6 million,'' he said. ''The rest of it will come from the sale of tax credits.''
Schlemmer said officials hope to raise $2.2 million through the sale of federal historic tax credits, another $1.3 million from the sale of state historic tax credits and $750,000 through new market credits.
''We're actually breaking new ground when it comes to the use of new market tax credits,'' he said. ''This is the first time any local project has used those and, interestingly, the first time the Federal Transit Authority has funded a project that has used them.''
All told, Schlemmer said officials hope to have $12.8 million to work with.
THE NEXT STEP
The next step, Schlemmer said, is to put the project out to bid.
''We're keeping our fingers crossed,'' he said. ''We're hoping our estimates are on the high side. And we're hoping that the economic downturn will work in our favor. We know contractors are really looking for work, so we're hoping that will shave a little bit off the costs.''
Bids should be opened by the end of December, Schlemmer said, which means work can get started as early as April 2010.
''By then, we should be able to get started on the roof and, once the exterior work is done, get going on the inside,'' he said. ''And if everything lines up the way we want, we'll be done right on schedule.''
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SilverBear
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10-19-09 9:21 AM
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"...helping the homeless, victims of domestic violence, and feeding the needy." What will you have? You will have followed the second greatest commandment of the Lord. 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself'
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carlaw
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10-18-09 2:03 PM
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This is the arrogance that has killed the city. If you think this is bad, read David Dawson's( In support of the BPU plot) in the guest commentary section.
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bodyhammer
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10-18-09 12:32 PM
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There is going to be a info booth and ticket booth,info about what?? look at the town it will tell you all you want to know and that would be go to the tickit booth and get out of town before the last person out of town turns out the lights..And they are going to have taxies at the station,i thought it was the law not to have a junk yard in the city,have you seen the taxis that they run in the city.. wow who inspects them someone that has a vision problom...
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TheBobster
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10-18-09 12:09 PM
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"...helping the homeless, victims of domestic violence, and feeding the needy." And, after you do all that what will you have to show for it? Start with something solid, like this station project, which at least offers the prospect of paying dividends and provides a cornerstone for future growth. Senior Center? Pfft, let them play bingo at their local VFD...
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johnee
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10-18-09 12:04 PM
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12 million dollar bus stop for a bus system no one rides.
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Happytocomment
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10-18-09 10:55 AM
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Why don't you build a Senior Center in one of the wings?? I think the Seniors have paid their fair share in taxes and most of them still are. Since the Mayor and company want to squeeze them out of the budget maybe they could make space for them instead of one retail store. Downtown Jamestown is a joke now anyhow, like who cares about Lucille Ball? The seniors deserve your support Mr Mayor, and don't forget you will be a senior someday if the gods be willing. Mr. Mayor and Council what do your mothers think of you all bullying senior citizens? Make space for the senior center and provide them enough money to welcome your area seniors.
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hammonddannyay
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10-18-09 9:21 AM
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Ridiculousto spend $12,000,000 dollars on this !! No wonder we are a BANKRUPT nation !! I still remember Harkness statement about the cabs sitting in front of the building & bathrooms. Just what I want to spend $12,000,000 on. I repeat $12,000,000 dollars.
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SilverBear
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10-18-09 9:20 AM
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Jocko, I totally agree with you. There are many more important things that kind of money should and could do,such as the helping the homeless, victims of domestic violence, and feeding the needy. You know, the things that are unimportant to some bureaucrats! What a waste of precious money.
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Jocko1
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10-18-09 8:46 AM
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I don't know if I agree with the fact that the "old" train station is in fact historic. Do the math it is only 78 years old,it was shuttered after only 42 years of use, and has been closed and decaying for 36 years. The building is by no means a historic monument,or a building of importance to any one, heck is there any one alive who still remembers it in use in it's heyday? I guess my point is it's a an old building that the city should have torn down in 1973 but neglected to do so,but hey let's wait 40 years and we will romanticise it and save it for posterity! (at the tune of 12 million dollars)
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carlaw
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10-18-09 6:08 AM
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I'd rather keep the Senior Center open. This is just play money for the same wheelers and dealers who still have a blighted unsafe city that no one can use. We need new ideas and a big change in city government.
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Fagerstrom
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10-18-09 5:46 AM
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That's a lot of money in this economy; no matter where it comes from. Perhaps they could put it on the back burner for a a while longer and see what happens. Preserving history is important but isn't insuring our future more important?
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