Property Acquired to Renovate Train Station : Glendale: Council votes to approve settlement in which it will pay $300,000 for a small parcel near the site.

After four years of negotiations with a dozen landowners, the city has struck a deal to acquire the last piece of property needed for the $6-million renovation of Glendale’s historic train station, officials said Wednesday.

The City Council voted Tuesday to approve an out-of-court settlement in which it will pay $300,000 for a small parcel near the station on Gardena Avenue, bringing the total cost of land purchased for the project since 1991 to about $14.2 million.

The renovation, along with several related construction projects aimed at turning the train station at 400 W. Cerritos Ave. into a transit hub, are expected to be under way early next year.

“This is going to be a multi-modal transportation center, incorporating trains, commuter rail, bus and shuttle services,” said Bob Kadlec, a project manager with the Glendale Redevelopment Agency. “We’re trying to enhance the environment for the providers, as well as the patrons, to make transit more convenient and get people to use it.”

The city purchased the 70-year-old, Spanish-style train depot from Southern Pacific Railroad for $3.5 million in 1989, and soon thereafter began acquiring surrounding properties via eminent domain.

Although some of the affected owners contested the city’s offer for their property, all disputes were settled out of court, Kadlec said.

The renovation and construction of the station, which will be paid for mostly with state and federal funds, will include a restoration of the depot to its original state. On the 9.5-acre area surrounding the station, a 750-space parking lot will be built, landscaping and lighting will be installed and a loading bay for 10 MTA, city and Greyhound buses will be created.

Also, a Metrolink pavilion with ticket machines and a snack bar will be built on the commuter train platform.

Original plans for the transportation center were more elaborate, and have been scaled back because of rising costs and the uncertainty about the proposed Burbank-Glendale-Los Angeles light rail transit system.

Shortly after the train station was bought, consultants estimated the cost of building a transit center at $7 million. But that figure skyrocketed to more than $30 million after plans were unveiled for a multilevel parking garage, passenger arcades and an elevated walkway to rail platforms.

Officials said current plans for the transit center still allow for the incorporation of light-rail trains if the estimated $400 million light-rail system, which is proposed to run from Burbank Airport to Union Station, is approved.