With the Gold Line Foothill Extension set to open in March, Monrovia—which will host one of the six stops along the new leg of the light rail line—is thinking about a renovation for its historic but derelict Santa Fe Depot, which opened in 1926 and is near the city's soon-to-open Gold Line stop. The Pasadena Star-News reports that officials in Monrovia are considering lending a developer $1.5 million for an adaptive reuse of the structure, to rehab the building and turn it into a "high-end restaurant and/or cafe."
The train depot is central to the Station Square project, a transit-oriented development planned for the area around the Gold Line stop in Monrovia. Officials are considering giving developer Daylight Limited, LLC a $1.5 million loan that would be forgiven once the project is successfully finished.
Monrovia really wants to get started on this project. The city has pushed the depot restoration through all the proper channels quickly, in part because it has to use $1.5 million in funds from the Gold Line Construction Authority (which built the extension) before "the agency dissolves in early 2016." The city's also worried about how the already rundown depot—which was built in 1926 but has been vacant since 1972—will survive the predicted, massive El Niño this winter.
· Monrovia may loan developer $1.5 million to restore historic train depot [PSN]
· Los Angeles's Next Rail Line Opens on March 5, 2016 [Curbed LA]
· Promenade, Park, Pizza Coming to Monrovia's Gold Line Stop [Curbed LA]