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Union Station renovations start with demoliton

Date: 11/26/2012

By G. Michael Dobbs

news@thereminder.com

SPRINGFIELD — If there ever was an example of political persistence over the long haul, it would Rep. Richard Neal's advocacy for the redevelopment of Union Station.

Neal first began in 1988 while he was mayor of Springfield by seizing the building from its then owner. On Nov. 21, Neal was among the officials marking the start of demolition of part of the building as the first step of a $78 million renovation into an intermodal transportation center.

Neal, Gov. Deval Patrick and Mayor Domenic Sarno swung sledgehammers at an exposed wall symbolizing the demolition work that will follow.

The station was built in 1926 to succeed a smaller station that was built on the same site. Neal recalled as a youth walking through the station, which he said was vibrant.

Neal explained to Reminder Publications that in 1988 the station, which largely closed in 1973, that "fallen into an ugly state of disrepair."

"The commercial life was being sucked out of the building," he said.

He said that there had been a series of "false start-ups," none of them succeeding.

When asked why he has stuck with the project for 24 years, he said, "I thought it was a worthwhile project."

As mayor he saw how other Northeastern cities had benefitted from the redevelopment of downtown train stations. "I could tell you that cities were being reborn around Union Stations," he added.

Currently, Amtrak is the only tenant in the complex, which is owned by the Springfield Redevelopment Authority.

Amtrak welcomes the project that will rehabilitate the station's atrium, waiting areas and ticketing booths, Neal said, which will also make available commercial spaces for support businesses, install a new elevator, restore the historic clock and re-open the tunnel connecting the main station to Lyman Street, among other improvements.

It will be the new terminal for Peter Pan Buslines as well as the Pioneer Valley Transit Authority (PVTA). The date of completion is early 2015.

Neal rejected the recommendation several years ago by the Urban Land Institute to "mothball" the project.

He thanked Senators Edward Kennedy and John Kerry for helping to protect federal earmarks for funding of the project over the years.

Neal noted that controversy over the management of the PVTA several years ago had slowed the project down.

Patrick delivered a needed $4 million addition to the project's budget and said the Union Station project falls within the area's his administration has sought to improve: education, innovation and infrastructure.

He called infrastructure improvements "the unglamorous role of government but it supports everything else."

Sarno said the Patrick Administration has been "a real partner" in making the project come about.

"I know there have been naysayers," Sarno said. "Many people said this wouldn't get done. It's getting done."