Sacramento Intermodal Station Ph2 $30 Million Restoration

[fouroheight68]

Hi All,

I work in the construction industry as a project manager. We are undertaking the historical restoration/construction of the Sacramento Intermodal Station, which will be breaking ground in a matter of weeks and continue for two years. I will be onsite full time for the duration of the project, and would be happy to keep the forum updated with progress, if you're interested! This building was built in 1926, and is loaded with history. We will be restoring the original terra cotta, windows, hardware, marble, murals, plaster, lighting fixtures, all while updating to LEED Gold certification.

This project might be in the shadow of the Arena, but it has been in the works for years. Not only will it serve as regional transit hub (possibly high speed rail), but it will also house office space on the 2nd floor, and a future public market.

For more information, check out the project website http://sacramentovalleystation.com/

[fouroheight68]

[Majin]

I wish they would change the name.

[urban_encounter]

Along with the Memorial Auditorium this is one of our most beautiful buildings. I'm glad that it's finally getting the attention and rehabilitation it deserves.

[enigma99a]

I thought they were going to move the building closer?

[Deno]

Originally Posted by enigma99a

I thought they were going to move the building closer?

Cost was to high.

[enigma99a]

Originally Posted by Deno

Cost was to high.

That's too bad

[fouroheight68]

Originally Posted by enigma99a

I thought they were going to move the building closer?

Amtrak will eventually (2017) build a new terminal closer to the tracks. The city of Sacramento owns the depot, and Amtrak is a tenant. Once Amtrak vacates, the plan is to turn the station into a public market like in Napa.

[wburg]

I had a different sense of the role of the historic depot. There was a plan to move the depot (if you scroll back through the years you can read posts about it here on SSP) but it was scratched in favor of leaving the depot in place and making it the entrance to a larger intermodal complex.

If you measure the distance from the historic depot entrance and compare it to the distance between entrance and tracks to Los Angeles Union Station, they're about the same. When you walk into LA Union Station, the Amtrak counter is nowhere in sight--you have to walk through the grand lobby down a concourse before you hit the Amtrak counter, connections to buses, and a cluster of restaurants and shops, then the underground walkways to the tracks. Stairs descend to the LAMTA Red Line, and on the far end of the tracks is a bus terminal for local and express buses.

What does that have to do with Sacramento? Los Angeles is the busiest train station west of the Mississippi, with about 1.7 million riders--and Sacramento is the second busiest with 1.2 million. No other Amtrak depots even come close, and considering the plans to expand Capitol Corridor and San Joaquin trains, we may get closer to Los Angeles' numbers. So in order to fit all our planned transit functions, we need more space for a bigger transit complex. Don't forget expanded light rail lines, streetcar, the need for a safe navigable bike route from downtown to Old Sacramento, and eventual relocation of Greyhound into this transit complex (the building on Richards is temporary.)

I kind of smirk at the idea of the historic depot being used as a farmer's market like the one in Napa--I'd think of it more like the Ferry Building in San Francisco. Like the Sacramento depot, the Ferry Building was primarily a building for transportation, between San Francisco's streetcar lines and ferries, and it still serves that function, with the public market/retail experience becoming part of that function in addition to being a destination in its own right.

Los Angeles union station also serves other functions--I took the train home from there last weekend, and there was a big public festival happening alongside the depot with live bands and thousands of people. Formerly vacant spaces outside the depot (some were old industrial facilities, tracks taken out of service, some with interim parking lot use) were developed into office buildings (like the LAMTA building) and condo/residential uses.

Think of the future plan for the Amtrak depot as more like a modern airport concourse--lined with small shops and restaurants for the convenience of travelers, information about local amenities and tourist destinations, and places for travelers to relax while waiting for departure or arrival. The difference with a modern train station is that it doesn't have to be a hermetically sealed TSA envelope like an airport--it can be a connected and living part of downtown. That's the main idea--back in 2009 I told the Council that we didn't need to move the depot because we had learned to think bigger since making the initial decision, and would need the space for a big-city train station with the historic depot as its grand entrance.

[Web]

Originally Posted by wburg

I had a different sense of the role of the historic depot. There was a plan to move the depot (if you scroll back through the years you can read posts about it here on SSP) but it was scratched in favor of leaving the depot in place and making it the entrance to a larger intermodal complex.

If you measure the distance from the historic depot entrance and compare it to the distance between entrance and tracks to Los Angeles Union Station, they're about the same. When you walk into LA Union Station, the Amtrak counter is nowhere in sight--you have to walk through the grand lobby down a concourse before you hit the Amtrak counter, connections to buses, and a cluster of restaurants and shops, then the underground walkways to the tracks. Stairs descend to the LAMTA Red Line, and on the far end of the tracks is a bus terminal for local and express buses.

What does that have to do with Sacramento? Los Angeles is the busiest train station west of the Mississippi, with about 1.7 million riders--and Sacramento is the second busiest with 1.2 million. No other Amtrak depots even come close, and considering the plans to expand Capitol Corridor and San Joaquin trains, we may get closer to Los Angeles' numbers. So in order to fit all our planned transit functions, we need more space for a bigger transit complex. Don't forget expanded light rail lines, streetcar, the need for a safe navigable bike route from downtown to Old Sacramento, and eventual relocation of Greyhound into this transit complex (the building on Richards is temporary.)

I kind of smirk at the idea of the historic depot being used as a farmer's market like the one in Napa--I'd think of it more like the Ferry Building in San Francisco. Like the Sacramento depot, the Ferry Building was primarily a building for transportation, between San Francisco's streetcar lines and ferries, and it still serves that function, with the public market/retail experience becoming part of that function in addition to being a destination in its own right.

Los Angeles union station also serves other functions--I took the train home from there last weekend, and there was a big public festival happening alongside the depot with live bands and thousands of people. Formerly vacant spaces outside the depot (some were old industrial facilities, tracks taken out of service, some with interim parking lot use) were developed into office buildings (like the LAMTA building) and condo/residential uses.

Think of the future plan for the Amtrak depot as more like a modern airport concourse--lined with small shops and restaurants for the convenience of travelers, information about local amenities and tourist destinations, and places for travelers to relax while waiting for departure or arrival. The difference with a modern train station is that it doesn't have to be a hermetically sealed TSA envelope like an airport--it can be a connected and living part of downtown. That's the main idea--back in 2009 I told the Council that we didn't need to move the depot because we had learned to think bigger since making the initial decision, and would need the space for a big-city train station with the historic depot as its grand entrance.

Thats true about the amtrak numbers but the metrolink numbers make the amtrak numbers seem puny!!! Metrolink basically revitalized that place along with the gold line.

[wburg]

That's what has me wondering--expanded Capitol Corridor to Roseville, more CC runs west to Davis, San Joaquin to a planned station at Elk Grove, and even farther out plans for a local train that runs from Sacramento to Redding, and suddenly the Sacramento depot is the hub of a regional commuter rail network.

[wburg]

Got a tour of the facility led by the city project manager in charge of pretty much all things Railyards today. He said that Amtrak would still be inhabiting the building for the next 20 years or so, installing a new six-window ticket counter and moving offices to the space formerly occupied by a restaurant while the eastern side, currently used for offices and baggage, would become commercial space.


Phase 2 schematic. Light rail will be reoriented 90 degrees to be parallel with the route to the tracks, the open area west of the concourse will become surface parking in the interim, later to be developed into??



The two windows with tape are sample panels of new replacements to match lost window panels. Pretty close match, I think.

Office wall with windows covered on the other side by some lovely 1960s wood paneling


The chandelier medallions will eventually be air vents to ventilate the main lobby, which will be heated and cooled by an in-floor radiant system.

The mural will be restored--you can't really see it here but a small patch was cleaned of 80 years of dust and nicotine stains to reveal its original appearance.

This safe door will eventually be a door to a new elevator system to be installed in the building.


Detail of an upper floor with access to the roof--hopefully a future home of a rooftop lounge with great views of the Railyards and downtown.


View from the roof of the 5th and 6th Street bridges, due to open by the end of this year.

[fouroheight68]

Did you meet with Greg Taylor? Looks like you got a good tour of my office for the next 2 years! Did you check out the basement?

[wburg]

Greg led the tour--he's a former member of our board. We didn't get a chance to check out the basement, touring around upstairs took two hours as there was a lot to see and a lot of questions! Interesting to hear about all the plans, including those associated with development in the Railyards, streetcar, new bridge etc., that will be happening over the next few years.

[ozone]

Too much money for a white elephant. Should have been given to the state or private party to develop the property and restore it. Another example of Sacramento Stupid.

[wburg]

State and federal money are being used to develop the property and restore it. Not sure what giving it to the state would have accomplished, or handing it to a private party, other than having it sit vacant and boarded up until it fell over. This is a project underway with a target date for completion--a far better alternative than, say, the city-owned buildings downtown that are boarded up and sitting vacant until they fall over.

[fouroheight68]

Originally Posted by wburg

State and federal money are being used to develop the property and restore it. Not sure what giving it to the state would have accomplished, or handing it to a private party, other than having it sit vacant and boarded up until it fell over. This is a project underway with a target date for completion--a far better alternative than, say, the city-owned buildings downtown that are boarded up and sitting vacant until they fall over.

50% of the funding is coming from federal TIGER grants. The project has been pushed out another month or so due to some budget/funding issues that need city council approval. Ground breaking ceremony is still next Friday. Stay tuned...

[ozone]

Originally Posted by wburg

State and federal money are being used to develop the property and restore it. Not sure what giving it to the state would have accomplished, or handing it to a private party, other than having it sit vacant and boarded up until it fell over. This is a project underway with a target date for completion--a far better alternative than, say, the city-owned buildings downtown that are boarded up and sitting vacant until they fall over.

Meh. In the end it will still a white elephant. At least a private developer could have incorporated it into a larger development. What good will it be once the new depot is built?

[wburg]

It will be incorporated into a larger development--the new intermodal depot.

[urban_encounter]

Originally Posted by ozone

Meh. In the end it will still a white elephant. At least a private developer could have incorporated it into a larger development. What good will it be once the new depot is built?

This project is far from being a "white elephant."


On another subject, does anyone know if there are plans to display a historic locomotive as shown in the renderings?