Milwaukee residents may soon have a transportation center they can be proud of thanks to the city's plan to renovate the downtown Amtrak station.

Milwaukee-based architecture firm Eppstein Uhen Architects Inc. is in charge of giving the depot the estimated $15 million facelift.

The current depot at 433 W. St. Paul Ave. is "very embarrassing," said Andrea Rowe Richards, spokeswoman for the Department of City Development.

The current depot was built in 1964. Its concrete facade and one large common ticket and waiting room have become uninviting as years of grime and little maintenance have taken their toll.

"We want to encourage people to take mass transit, not punish them," Richards said. "The state's major urban center needs to be an inviting gateway."

The station will accommodate Amtrak passenger trains, Greyhound buses and possibly Chicago's Metra line of commuter trains, she said.

Ridership on Amtrak's Hiawatha Line has increased, specifically between Milwaukee and Chicago, which makes the renovation even more necessary, according to Richards.

The renovation is a part of a greater "Milwaukee Renaissance" and that the polished-up platform would enhance an area of downtown that is somewhat isolated and lacks architectural appeal, she said.

In addition to revamping the building, the plan includes streetscape improvements along Fifth Street, which runs perpendicular to the station, and would create a greater presence along that street to help make students more comfortable when traveling to and from the depot.

This is not the first time a renovation of the station has been proposed.

Alderman Robert Bauman, who represents the city's 4th District that includes Marquette, was opposed to the original Wisconsin Department of Transportation redevelopment plan, which he said made the depot look like a strip mall rather than a train station.

"Frankly, the new plans are a dramatic improvement compared to the original," Bauman said. "This is something our citizens can be proud of."

He said the same basic building currently housing the depot would remain, but an additional 7,500 square feet would be added. A glass atrium will be erected to accommodate a new, more attractive passenger lobby.

Semi sit-down restaurants will also be added to make the station a more inviting transportation hub, Bauman said.

Keeley Kerrins, a sophomore in the College of Communication, thinks the money could be better spent on dealing with social problems Milwaukee faces or finishing the Marquette Interchange.

"Amtrak is basically defunct and inefficient," Kerrins said. "You might as well spend the money on some kind of transportation that people use."

While Kerrins thinks the current Amtrak station is impersonal, she does not see a renovation as an improvement to Milwaukee.

"People only use it to go to Chicago. If it was to be renovated, it would be almost wasteful," she said. "I don't ever see that Amtrak station bustling with activity."

Patrick Wallace, a sophomore in the College of Business Administration, thinks Amtrak service is great but does not like the Milwaukee station and is happy with renovation plans.

"It is scummy compared to Union Station in Chicago," he said.

The renovation is expected to begin in April 2006 and be completed within one year.

This article was published in The Marquette Tribune on September 20, 2005.