91视频

笔辞谤迟濒补苍诲鈥檚 Union Station needs more than $250 million in upgrades, complicating Prosper Portland鈥檚 push to sell the station to a buyer who would keep it running.

For more than a year, Prosper Portland has been interested in selling the property. But that task is made more difficult by the repair bill and a very short list of potential buyers who would be capable and interested in running a train station.

鈥淲e鈥檝e been working with (the Oregon Department of Transportation) and Amtrak on all facets of the facility for years,鈥� Prosper Portland spokesman Shawn Uhlman said.

No sale is imminent, he said.

The station needs significant improvements, including an expensive seismic retrofit and track replacement. The building, which was completed in 1896, was constructed of unreinforced masonry.

Prosper Portland in 2023 halted efforts to renovate the structure and instead began to explore selling it. The agency spends approximately $2 million per year to maintain and operate Union Station.

鈥淟ong-term ownership of this facility is something Prosper should clearly not have in its portfolio,鈥� Uhlman said.

The $250 million renovation cost estimate is likely a low figure. It鈥檚 based on a 30 percent design stage.

鈥淎s we move forward with more complete and updated (documents), those numbers are likely to rise,鈥� Uhlman said.

Prosper 笔辞谤迟濒补苍诲鈥檚 discussions have centered on Amtrak, although ODOT and elected officials have also been involved. Amtrak is Prosper鈥檚 tenant at Union Station.

The talks appear to be stalled. An Amtrak spokeswoman said the agency 鈥渉as stepped back from these discussions,鈥� but did not respond to additional questions. The office of Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Portland, who represents the area that includes Union Station, did not comment.

Prosper Portland, then the Portland Development Commission, purchased the property from the Portland Terminal Railroad Co. in 1987. The agency鈥檚 attempt to sell the station resurfaced in a February letter from Shelly Haack, a Prosper Portland program manager, to U.S. Department of Transportation and state officials.

Haack wrote that Prosper Portland 鈥渃oncluded that it is in the city of 笔辞谤迟濒补苍诲鈥檚 and the station鈥檚 best long-term interest to align ownership of this asset with an entity with a transportation mission. As a result, Prosper began to explore the sale of the station and will be evaluating its role in pursuing the renovation plans, in light of any future sales negotiations.鈥�

鈥淥ur efforts to sell the asset continue, and I will keep you both informed should those efforts result in a viable option to purchase,鈥� Haack added.

Haack gave a similar message about Prosper 笔辞谤迟濒补苍诲鈥檚 efforts to sell the station in a July 2023 letter.

Prosper Portland is committed to selling the station to a suitable party, Uhlman said.

鈥淚n order to implement the full revitalization that needs to happen, it鈥檒l need to be a partner that is focused on transportation,鈥� he said.