The building served as a passenger train station for the Rock Island and Frisco lines from 1931 to 1967. Since rail service ceased, it has sat largely idle.
The exterior of the station has been well maintained and preserved, while the grand and ornate former passenger waiting rooms have been cluttered with cubicles and offices.
Now, using excess funds from MAPS 3, $17 million has been budgeted to refresh the original interior spaces and create an event center and offices.
Plans for the first phase show the two former waiting rooms – the largest being 5,000 square feet and able to accommodate hundreds – being converted to flexible event areas with supporting kitchens and bars.
Future work would include renovating the rear docks into more event space. What had originally been used for U.S. Mail services is now being utilized by Scissortail Park for storage and maintenance items.
Effectively, the north half of the station will be completely renovated with the current funds with the remainder to be performed at a later date.
Construction should start in March of next year and be completed in about a year.
