Saving Union Station team outlines stabilization plan, fundraising gap as passenger-rail work advances

The Saving Union Station volunteer effort told the Goldsboro City Council on Oct. 20 that phase 1 stabilization of the historic Union Station will begin soon and that $1.5 million is needed to complete the immediate stabilization scope.

Julie Metz, a leader of the Saving Union Station team, told the council the group expects “to see some activity at 101 North Carolina Street very soon,” and said a fence will be installed “around the front perimeter of the property to protect it, by the close of November.”

Metz said the immediate fundraising target is $1.5 million to pay for stabilization identified by the state rail division. She detailed funds the project has secured and those still needed: the City of Goldsboro applied $375,000; the team received a $612,500 grant from the North Carolina Department of Commerce (reported to the group as the maximum amount under that program); the Downtown Goldsboro Development Corporation (DGDC) provided a 5% required local match ($37,005); and the team had about $11,100 in private donations. Wayne County has committed $375,000 but its disbursement is contingent on the Saving Union Station team first raising its $750,000 share, Metz said. Metz said the remaining shortfall is roughly $89,000 and the team intends to close that gap by March 2026.

The city council voted earlier in the meeting, on the consent agenda, to approve a contract with TA Loving for phase 1 design and temporary stabilization work (that contract appeared as part of the consent items). Metz said TA Loving is the selected design-builder and described the design process as phased; the design phase is expected to run through March 2026 with construction occurring in phases thereafter.

Metz reviewed Union Station’s history and the project’s role in a broader Southeast North Carolina passenger-rail effort. She summarized a recent NCDOT feasibility finding that recommended the eastern route between Raleigh and Wilmington — the study prepared cost and ridership forecasts assuming stops including Wilmington, Goldsboro, Selma, Clayton and Raleigh — and said the project is proceeding through the Federal Railroad…