“Topping Off” Ceremony Marks Milestone for Goleta Train Depot Project

The City of Goleta held a ‘topping off’ ceremony on Tuesday, June 10^th, 2025, with the placement of the final structural steel beam for the Goleta Train Depot located at 27 S. La Patera Lane.

This milestone marks the completion of the construction project’s structural framing, a project that broke ground in September of 2024.

The topping off ceremony, a tradition in the construction industry, celebrates the safe, successful completion of the installation of structural steel framing and recognizes the accomplishments of the construction crew. The final beam was signed by workers and project partners adorned with symbolic elements like an evergreen tree for growth and good fortune, and both an American and a City of Goleta flag connecting the building to its community and identity. The beam was hoisted into place followed by applause from the audience. Due to the active construction site, attendance was limited.

Mayor Paula Perotte said, “We are excited by the progress being made and are grateful for the ongoing dedication of everyone associated with getting us to this point in construction including our city team, our consultants, Santa Barbara County Association of Governments (SBCAG) and our contractor, Quincon. We first envisioned the development of a new train depot in 2017. In 2018 we acquired the land using city funds and successfully secured state funding to design and construct. After that, we entered the lengthy project development and architectural design phase, and last September we started construction. We can’t wait for the ribbon cutting ceremony next year.”

2^nd District Goleta City Councilmember James Kyriaco said, “The train depot is the first “from scratch building” that the city has undertaken to build, so this is doubly exciting for us all to be at the City of Goleta’s first “topping off” ceremony.”

SBCAG Executive Director Marjie KIRN said, “Delivering a project of this scale and impact takes not only vision but also significant investment – this effort would not be possible without strong support at every level – local, regional, and state. We look forward to celebrating the grand opening—and, more importantly, using this new depot to further connect Ventura County commuters to Goleta with a new rail service starting this fall.”

Leading up to this milestone, work has focused on site demolition, site grading and excavation, installation of underground utilities, and pouring of the concrete building pad. Work will continue throughout the summer with installation of internal framing, flooring, roofing, and all windows and doors. The project remains on schedule for full completion by early summer 2026.

The full-service multi-modal train depot is a transformative one for our region. It will serve increased train ridership, improve connections to bus transit, accommodate transit service to/from the Santa Barbara Airport and UCSB and add new bicycle and pedestrian facilities. This project will also accommodate the planned future expansion of passenger rail service to Goleta.

For more information on the project go to www.CityofGoleta.org/TrainDepot.