On Tuesday, May 13, the Leon County Commission voted to award the contract for the Amtrak Station Visitor Center Building Repair project to H.A. Contracting Corp. in the amount of $2,160,000.
On May 10, 2024, Leon County experienced three simultaneous tornado outbreaks causing widespread damage across Tallahassee-Leon County and the Big Bend region. One of the three tornadoes passed directly over Railroad Square and significantly damaged the Historic Amtrak Station, causing major roof damage and other structural impacts.
The storm struck from the west side of the building and lifted the roof damaging the underlying support trusses. The wind severely damaged the awnings and soffits along the north side of the building. In addition to damaging the awning ledger and supporting brick pockets, the awnings struck the guardrails, damaging the concrete and the freestanding light poles on the north side of the building.
As a result of the extensive damage, all operations at this site ceased and currently remain inactive. The Division of Tourism has been temporarily relocated to other County spaces and All Saints Cinema is currently operating out of the Challenger Center.
Since the damage was the result of a tornado storm event, funding for this project will be partially provided through insurance proceeds ($1,175,000) with additional funding from available County’s Tourism Fund Reserves ($985,000). An additional 20% contingency ($432,000) will be added to the budget to account for any unforeseen conditions due to the historical nature of the building for a total project budget of approximately $2.6 million.
Leon County Commission Approves $2.1 Million for Amtrak Station Repair added by Staff on
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why repair it – the train loss money , and no one rides it –if it ran auto train out west that be a new question
Jon: This reminds of the Edison building at Cascades that was leased from the City at a lower than prevailing rate. Was a good deal for somebody. Now a restaurant. I can see this happening to our Station. Refurbishing before an agreement with Amtrak ? Call me jaded.
Well hmm, im split. Protecting a historic building Im not necessarily against though it should be done with voluntary money, not taxes. Normally I would say privatize it, but I wouldnt want a private owner to ruin it. Does tourism fund money come from tourists?
Why are we spending millions on a train station that doesn’t have a train? Here’s an idea; let’s get train service back to Tallahassee, then we can think about spending money on a train station
You need to think ahead by about 5 to 8 Years as well. Before allowing The Division of Tourism, All Saints Cinema and Domi you should find out for sure if Amtrak really is coming back, then you should consider turning that Building back into the Amtrak Train Station.