Union Station

[betts]

I don't think regular retail would survive, but I can envision booth space that could be rented sporadically, such as on weekends when the Farmer's Market was operating or to coincide with park events. I could see local artists or craftspeople being interested in something like that. A museum gift shop is always a unique retail option as well, and doesn't necessarily have to be totally self-sufficient.

[CaptDave]

Location was always the problem for a proposed rail hub. It just wasn't practical.

I'd like to see a restaurant there, ala Tavern on the Green, perhaps some retail and a museum. It would be a great spot for a Saturday Farmer's Market, perhaps with some adjoining food trucks. It would be nice to have a big event space there, as I can certainly envision park weddings. Maybe that should be the site for a Children's Museum, or a space for artist booths where local artists can sell their wares. I can envision myriad options for the space which would allow it to interact with and attract park visitors.

I think you are on target with the best and hopefully most likely use for this great building.

[Larry OKC]

And if we could just get the Streetcar to make a stop there it could be utilized for rail again...

[CaptDave]

And if we could just get the Streetcar to make a stop there it could be utilized for rail again...

I hope that will be a MAPS 4 streetcar extension project Larry.

[Tritone]

This building would make a great railway station, wouldn't it?

[Snowman]

This building would make a great railway station, wouldn't it?

It did but what was the rail yard to operate as a station is now i40, I guess if we did get commercial rail running, the addition to the back was removed and an under passes were put in at Robinson and Walker it could be a stop on a line but even getting commercial rail to Norman/Tinker/Edmond is by no means certain at this point.

[Pete]

There is still a rail line that runs directly behind Union Station, just north of the new I-40.

[betts]

This building would make a great railway station, wouldn't it?

The problem remains location. It's not on the north-south line, which will be an important part of any rail system, as it will connect Edmond and Norman with OKC. It is unfortunate that that is the case, as it is a nicer building than the Santa Fe Station, which has a much better location and already acts as a station for Amtrak. Perhaps we just need to appreciate Union Station for what it is, which is a lovely building with a great past. It can be repurposed, which is what you always hope will happen with a building of its stature. If it someday is a stop on the streetcar line and perhaps a east-west line, that will be great. But, short of taking it down stone by stone and rebuilding it elsewhere, that's pretty much what it can be. I hope it can be a destination for other reasons: a great restaurant, a museum, shopping, a focal point of the park. That's not a tragedy, IMO.

[OKCisOK4me]

I agree with Betts. In time, with the completion of the park, I hope that it becomes a success at being something other than COPTA storage.

[BoulderSooner]

Couldn't it be on the line though if we went with a more simplified Robinson spine? In fact, it would make an ideal intersection point for a N/S spine and an E/W route that ran from the airport to Remington Park, no?

the sante fe is the north south spine .... and the rail to the airport goes on the south side of the river .. NOT next to union station ..

[LakeEffect]

I see. Doesn't it actually cross the river at Western? I assumed that bridge and the that bend back toward the west was all a part of the eventual airport route. Jeff and I walked that a while back.

Nope, no rail at Western. The line near Western was abandoned for I-40. The airport line cuts off at the Cargil plant on S Robinson and follows along the south side of the River until Western and then cuts southwest, eventually paralleling Newcastle Road.

[OKCisOK4me]

The line behind Union Station runs through Yukon and out to El Reno to join UPs north south line. It used to continue on out west to Weatherford (currently state owned rail but formerly Chicago Rock Island & Pacific) where it merged with UPs line down to El Paso at Tucumcari, NM. ;-)

[Tritone]

Right, right, and right. The Frisco line from the airport area used to go to Union Station. The old Rock Island line from El Reno, Amarillo, etc. comes in south of Union Station. The old Frisco line to Tulsa and St Louis used to come to Union Station as did the Ft Smith line. Without the yard south of the station it's just a lovely, underutilized building. A lot of good memories there from the early 60s, when it was a railroad station.

[Pete]

Something strange happening here...

Yesterday, there was a $650,000 building permit for this site for 'parking' by the City of OKC.

[HangryHippo]

Oh sweet mother of god, no...

[jn1780]

Could be temporary while the central park is being built.

[Pete]

There isn't any sort of demolition application, so I'm not worried about the building itself.

Not sure exactly what is planned other than maybe an adjacent parking area for Central Park construction.

[jn1780]

Temporary parking lot? Or do you mean like a construction lot?

Either one really. I would think any longterm parking would be part of the central park project.

[Pete]

Just spoke to the City about this...

They are actually re-doing all the parking and sidewalks around Union Station.

Seems like odd timing given the pending construction of the first phase of Central Park, but glad to know they are investing in this great facility.

[HangryHippo]

Just spoke to the City about this...

They are actually re-doing all the parking and sidewalks around Union Station.

Seems like odd timing given the pending construction of the first phase of Central Park, but glad to know they are investing in this great facility.

That does seem like extremely odd timing. But then again, not a lot of what OKC does makes sense in terms of timing.

[catch22]

Hopefully we are not duplicating money spent. In other words, 1-2 years from now I hope we aren't ripping out this new work for maps projects.

[OKCisOK4me]

Just spoke to the City about this...

They are actually re-doing all the parking and sidewalks around Union Station.

Seems like odd timing given the pending construction of the first phase of Central Park, but glad to know they are investing in this great facility.

Sooooooooo..... the renderings we've seen of all grass and trees around US is actually now going to be parking and sidewalks, so there will be direct access by street to US? Maybe LarryOKC will get his magic streetcar route to US.

Hopefully we are not duplicating money spent. In other words, 1-2 years from now I hope we aren't ripping out this new work for maps projects.

Will probably most likely be the case. The city or ODOT does not learn from past mistakes. Remember when they rebuilt the westbound ramp at Robinson off the Crosstown even knowing that they were going to move I-40 a few years afterward? Too bad this money can't be spent elsewhere.

[Larry OKC]

^^^
Thank you...Thank you very much....Please tip the wait staff...will be here all week

[BoulderSooner]

per next weeks DDR COPTA now has approval to demolish the walkways paving and parking lot

[Urban Pioneer]

I guess they are trying to get the Admin approval out of the way so that the Hargreaves can just do whatever they want with the property in the context of the MAPS 3 park project. Just a guess, but that's what it sounds like. COTPA turning over the keys for the grounds, access, parking, and landscaping.