Coraopolis train station work finally back on track
Coraopolis residents’ efforts to restore their town’s historic train station may have been sidetracked by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the work hasn’t been derailed.
Mayor Shawn Reed said the project to save the station, which was built in 1896 to serve a busy rail corridor linking Beaver County and Pittsburgh, is going into phase two of construction work.
“It was very exciting to lay out the construction plans on the picnic table in my backyard and get things started again,” Mr. Reed said. “We had the grant money but couldn’t move forward until the COVID-19 restrictions on construction were lifted.”
Money for this phase of the construction work came from a partnership of public and private sources, said the mayor, who also serves as vice president of the Coraopolis Community Development Foundation, the agency overseeing the restoration. Mr. Reed also is chairman of the project.
The Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development Keystone Communities grant program, the Allegheny County Community and Infrastructure and Tourism Fund, and the Richard King Mellon Foundation Progress Fund together contributed $655,000 toward the effort.
The money will cover replacement of the roof on the main building, installation of permanent utilities, and the start of rebuilding the passenger canopy behind the station near the railroad tracks, where passengers were sheltered from the elements before they boarded the trains.
Imperial Construction Services is overseeing the project team of designers led by Design3 Architecture,
civil engineers Hampton Technical, historical consultant Ellis Schmidlapp and roofer Miller Thomas Gyekis.
A keen attention to historical detail has been a hallmark from the beginning of the project in 2006, when Coraopolis citizens banded together to save the station on Mill Street and Neville Way from being torn down.
Slate and metal roof components are being restored or preserved to match the original materials used in the roof. Some slight adjustments needed to be made in the height of the passenger canopy because people today are generally taller than they were in 1896, the mayor said, but the project has been a meticulous re-creation of the original station.
Designed by the firm Shipley, Rutan and Coolidge in Richardson Romanesque architecture style, the station was listed on the National Register of Historic Places by the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation in 1978. The station was one of the largest built in the towns along the rail line between Beaver County and Pittsburgh operated by the Pennsylvania and Lake Erie railroad.
“The train station restoration and growth of our town are linked together,” Mr. Reed said.
He pointed to a resurgence of investment in downtown Coraopolis and said the whole section of Mill Street has become a focal point for renewal since the train station project began.
Once completely restored, plans are to lease space in the station to a restaurant, and also have space available for community events and weddings, and build a teaching kitchen for residents to improve their job skills in the food-service industry.
The Coraopolis Community
Foundation intends to use revenue from the restaurant and event rentals to help fund projects such as its food bank and community garden.
Depending on the availability of additional grants, the mayor anticipates the station opening in 2021 or 2022.
The Coraopolis Community Development Foundation estimates the budget for the renovation at more than $2 million, but it is hopeful donations from local residents, people who fondly remember the station when it was still operating and people who are supporting the project out of a love for trains or architectural restoration will fill the gaps in funding not covered by grants.