Councilmember Jan Drago
COUNCIL APPROVES PURCHASE OF KING STREET STATION
The “gateway to the city” is purchased for $1.00
SEATTLE – The Council, today, took a historic step and approved the purchase of the century-old King Street Station from the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway. The price was $1.00. City Councilmember Jan Drago, Chair of the Transportation Committee, said, “We have taken a huge step today toward our grand vision of a King Station bustling with people using Amtrak, Metro buses, and Sound Transit commuter rail and light rail.” City ownership will ensure that this landmark is transformed into a major multimodal transportation center linking statewide, regional and local transportation services. The Station is served by Amtrak and Sound Transit commuter rail; Sound Transit’s light rail will stop a block away at 5th Avenue & Jackson St., and there is a busy Metro bus stop nearby. Improving these transit links will provide an incentive to reduce the use of single-occupant cars accessing our downtown area.
King Street Station is on the National Register of Historic Places and has been largely untouched since the 1962 World’s Fair other than some recent restoration work in the Compass Room. The City will now have the opportunity to continue the renovation transforming King Street Station into the beautiful, historic building that it was meant to be when originally constructed in 1906.
There are tens of million of dollars in funding on hand to begin the station’s renovation work. The Washington State Department of Transportation currently holds $18.8 million in grants and donations for station rehabilitation and has managed $2.5 million in building restoration already. Once the City owns the building, $12 million of state and federal grants currently held by Washington State Department of Transportation will be freed up for use because the building will be in public ownership. In addition, the Seattle Department of Transportation will receive $10 million in transportation levy funds for the station’s structural and seismic upgrade work.
The next phase of renovation will be completing the Station will include restoration of the second and third floors with opportunities for commercial leasing. The final phase of renovation will be converting the Station into a multimodal terminal. The Seattle Department of Transportation will be looking for new sources of funding to complete that work in the future.
Councilmember Drago said, “Invigorating King Street Station will be a real boon for Pioneer Square, the SODO district, and, ultimately, and the city and region a whole.”
-30-
City Council |
