NCDOT PURCHASES GOLDSBORO’S
UNION PASSENGER STATION
New Use as Multimodal Transportation Center Announced

GOLDSBORO - Officials from the N.C. Department of Transportation and the city of Goldsboro today announced the purchase of Union Station, Goldsboro’s former passenger train station, and plans for its restoration and use as a multimodal transportation center.

The station, built in 1909 and sold to a private business in 1972 after passenger rail service was discontinued, has been purchased by NCDOT as part of its Historic Station Restoration and Preservation Program.

“What we are witnessing today is truly a merger of the old and the new,” said Board of Transportation member Tom Betts of Rocky Mount.  “An important part of Goldsboro’s history is being reclaimed and will be given new identity and purpose that will serve the citizens of Goldsboro and Wayne County for many years to come.”

Also on hand for the announcement were NCDOT Rail Director Patrick Simmons, NCDOT Public Transportation Director Miriam Perry, Goldsboro Mayor Al King and City Manager Joe Huffman.

Plans call for Union Station, which was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977, to become a multimodal transportation center. Gateway, Goldsboro’s combined urban and rural transportation system, and intercity bus service provider Greyhound are among possible transit tenants, as are future facilities to host a proposed commuter rail service between Goldsboro and Raleigh and intercity passenger rail service to Wilmington and Morehead City.

“Sharing a base of operation helps providers create a seamless transportation system,” said the Public Transportation Division’s Perry.  “Proximity is convenience for the traveling public.”

Union Station was designed by the Wilmington architectural firm of Leitner and Wilkins in an eclectic style and is dubbed one of the most ambitious stations of its type in North Carolina.  The two-story brick building, which encompasses nearly 10,000 square feet, is located on property covering two city blocks.

Goldsboro officials have applied for a grant through the Federal Highway Administration’s Transportation, Community and System Preservation Program to be used for building stabilization and pre-renovation architectural and engineering work.  Actual restoration construction, contingent upon funding, is expected to begin in July 2008 and continue through completion in June 2010.

The proposed Union Station renovation is part of Goldsboro’s Downtown Master Plan and the Goldsboro Neighborhood Revitalization Plan.  The station anchors the western portion of the master plan and is adjacent to one of two proposed civic center and private hotel development sites. The revitalization plan is an effort to preserve some of Goldsboro’s most historic buildings located near Union Station and market them through organizations like Preservation North Carolina and Downtown Goldsboro Development Corporation to people willing to restore and live in them as owner/occupants.

NCDOT’s renovation program has restored a dozen train stations throughout the state.  The program has received numerous state and national awards.

Download early postcard photos of Union Station

 ***NCDOT***

Contacts:
Joan Bagherpour, 919-733-7245 x261
NCDOT Rail Division