Kansas City, Mo. ? Sen. Kit Bond has a plan for pumping life into financially struggling Union Station by making the area a hub for an agency that knows all about bringing in money.

Bond, R-Mo., is pursuing a $200 million redevelopment plan that he said could bring at least 6,000 federal jobs into the area, by consolidating Internal Revenue Service operations throughout the Kansas City metropolitan area into the former main post office across from the station.

“While it’s too early to talk details, the senator believes that we have a good chance to help the city with increased employment and job creation downtown,” said Ernie Blazar, Bond’s spokesman.

In recent months, Union Station supporters and civic and business leaders quietly have been pushing a broad plan to encourage redevelopment around the former train depot, generating more traffic and revenue to support its operations.

The Depression-era post office has been largely vacant since 1,600 postal workers were shifted to a new mail processing facility three years ago. Fewer than 200 employees work at the main post office now.

Union Station, meanwhile, has struggled with dwindling attendance and growing budget shortfalls since reopening in 1999.

The economic activity created by thousands of new workers in the vicinity would generate an estimated $2.5 million to $3 million in additional annual operating revenues for Union Station, said Turner White, chief executive officer of the facility.

“It would probably go a third toward reducing our annual deficit without increasing our costs,” White said.

To succeed, the proposal must pass muster with Congress. Any post office redevelopment plan also would be reviewed by the city.

The property being considered, including the post office building and parking lots to the west, covers about 27 acres.

Increasing employment and development in the area is one of the strategies being pursued to bring more traffic into the old station, which was revived at a cost of $234 million with major support from area taxpayers.