April 9, 2024

$79M upgrade arriving at Tacoma's Union Station

Photo by Steve Morgan (CC BY-SA 4.0 DEED) [enlarge]

The Beaux-Arts station has housed a federal courthouse since 1992.

Union Station in Tacoma is set to get a $79 million upgrade thanks to a $1.2 trillion spending package signed by President Biden on March 23.

Major building systems — including electrical, life safety, roofing and HVAC — will be upgraded at the 106-year-old building. The work scope also includes security and seismic upgrades.

The majestic Beaux-Arts structure is in Tacoma's downtown district and is one of the city's marquee buildings. It opened in 1911 and operated as a train station until 1984. Since 1992 and following an extensive adaptive reuse project that included an addition, the former station has been the location of a federal courthouse for judges of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.

The courthouse has 10 courtrooms.

The recently announced upgrades will be overseen by the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), which has owned the property since August 2022 (the previous owner was the city of Tacoma). GSA is the agency responsible for operating and maintaining federal buildings.

GSA in 1990 entered into a 30-year lease with the city of Tacoma to use Union Station as a U.S. courthouse. GSA exercised an option to purchase the property from the city for $1 at the end of its lease term.

The Puget Sound Business Journal was first to report on the planned renovation. According to the journal, GSA is in the process of forming a project team and project plan. That effort is expected to take around a year. The journal reports that design for the project is expected to also take around a year and that renovations should take two to three years, meaning work could wrap in either 2028 or 2029.

Future contractor opportunities will be advertised on the SAM.gov website.

Union Station was designed by the architectural firm Reed and Stem. That duo was also part of the design team for New York's Grand Central Station, another iconic Beaux-Arts structure.

The defining feature of Tacoma's historic station is a 90-foot-high central dome that evokes the peak of Mount Rainier, visible from the city on a clear day. Inside, the dome creates a rotunda that GSA says is visited by up to 300 people a day during the summer.

The rotunda houses a collection of glass art by celebrated Tacoma artist Dale Chihuly, including a 20-foot chandelier consisting of over 2,700 multi-colored, balloon-like glass globes suspended from the center of the domed ceiling.

Several historically significant features are preserved in the rotunda. These include a large clock, marble water fountains and wooden benches.

Union Station was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. In 1980, the seven-block area surrounding the station was designated a historic district. That district is also listed in the National Register.

A total of $79.26 million was earmarked to upgrade the station in Biden's spending package.

GSA administrator Robin Carnahan had this to say about the building following GSA's purchase in 2022: “The historic Tacoma Union Station is an iconic landmark building that connects the community of the region to its rich history. GSA is honored to continue our decades-long partnership with the city by taking stewardship of this property to ensure it continues serving the public and our federal courts for many years to come.”