Tampa Union Station Transforms to Community Hub With $4M Makeover

Work has started on a $4 million update to Tampa Union Station. The project keeps trains moving while turning unused areas into public spaces. Workers plan to finish by December 2025.

Last year brought big changes. The station saw 156,000 Amtrak riders walk through its doors - up 21% from before. These numbers mark the busiest year in over a decade, according to a report by the Tampa Bay Business Journal.

Workers now install new windows and add fresh paint, along with other updates to the inside and out. Soon, empty spaces will turn into spots where people can grab coffee and get work done.

Built in 1912, this old station sits where South Ybor meets the Channel District, Water Street, and ENCORE. Three train lines - Atlantic Coast Line, Seaboard Air Line, and Tampa Northern - once met here.

Dark times hit in the 1980s. The public couldn't use the station after 1984. For 14 years, Amtrak worked from a makeshift spot. Then Tampa Union Station Preservation & Redevelopment (TUSP&R)  stepped up to save it.

Money came from many places - $4 million in grants and loans helped fix things up. In 1998, after CSX gave the building to Tampa, trains started running again. More work followed: the old baggage room got fixed in 2002, and platforms were made better in 2011.

A new group, Friends of Tampa Union Station, started watching over the building in 2008. They set up ways to pay for fixes when needed.

Now you might find a wedding or art show at the station. In 2012, train buffs from the National Railway Historical Society named it something special - a National Historic Railroad Landmark.

This spot still matters for Florida train travel. Getting on a special list in 1974 kept the bulldozers away, and now it stands tall as proof that old buildings can find new life.