Abstract:
The concept for Meridian’s Union Station multi-modal transportation center began to evolve in 1990 as community leaders moved toward the goal of rebuilding what had been a beautiful and bustling rail station, maximizing efficiency by putting all ground transportation under one roof and, in the process, infusing new life into a blighted area of the downtown core. The project also had important historical overtones, as Meridian was a child of the railroads and its growth was inextricably tied to rail commerce. The $7 million project, leveraged with ISTEA money and local funding, included reconstruction of the 1905 Union Station tower and restoration of the east wing of the building. The Mission Revival-style structure was designed to house Amtrak, Greyhound, the Meridian Transit System and the city’s economic development agency, with mezzanine-level spaces for community use. Since its opening 2 ½ years ago, Union Station has not only become a transportation center and a hub of community life, it has also sparked more than $10 million in private investment in the once blighted Depot District of downtown Meridian.
