The lease between the city of Seattle and Amtrak for King Street Station is finally official.
Excerpts:
The new lease with Amtrak secures its continued occupancy of the 1st Floor of King Street Station and establishes rent that will allow the City to maintain agreed-upon levels of maintenance and operating standards, as well as funding a major maintenance and capital improvement fund to cover the costs of replacing major building systems, roof replacement and other major costs. The agreement also clarifies the City’s right to lease spaces on the 2nd and 3rd floors that had previously been utilized by Burlington Northern until its merger with the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway in 1996, when most BNSF operations were consolidated in Ft. Worth, Texas.
Premises:
-- The grant of premises to Amtrak includes the 1st Floor and areas where rail operations are staged, plus non-exclusive use of station common areas necessary for the public to access Amtrak operations
-- SDOT retains access to the entire station for purposes of building operations and maintenance, including building mechanical facilities
-- Premises are provided “as is”
-- Permitted uses are those related to intercity rail passenger services and ancillary uses, including vending machines, sales of sundry items, newspaper stands, luggage care rentals, electronic charging stations and rental car or hotel concierge services.
Women’s Waiting Room:
-- The historic Women’s Waiting Room, along with the rest of 1st Floor remains in Amtrak’s control (per assigned lease via grant of deed) but the agreement acknowledges that at this time Amtrak does not intend to use the space for its operations and provides an opening for the City market it for uses compatible with passenger rail operations (eg., restaurant or café) on Amtrak’s behalf. The estimated $1-2 million cost of renovating the Women’s Waiting Room means that the space is unlikely to generate substantial income for a significant period of time and that it remains in the City’s interest to market the space even if any potential income would fall to Amtrak. Amtrak is unlikely to take any action to market the space on its own.
