Garden views, public spaces. Here’s a first look at Hillsborough’s Amtrak station.

Tammy Grubb

A train station coming to Hillsborough could become a modern commuter hub and civic center, integrated into the natural landscape, with a bus stop and public spaces within an easy walk to downtown, project officials said Monday night.

The station, near the Collins Ridge subdivision at Churton and Orange Grove streets, is the first phase of a 20-acre town-planned development. The site now is mostly undeveloped, except for the Hillsborough Youth Athletic Association baseball fields.

While details are still being worked out, the project’s first phase will add an 8,000-square-foot, single-story building, a dropoff area and parking where the field is today. One side would have a train station with a waiting area, covered patio and boarding platforms.

The other side could have town offices and an auditorium-size room for public meetings and events. Local art could hang on the lobby walls, said Stephanie Trueblood, the town’s public space and sustainability manager.

An elevated greenway north across the railroad tracks and south through the Collins Ridge neighborhood would create a pedestrian link from downtown to Cates Creek Park, near the Waterstone neighborhood.

An architect’s rendering shows how an Amtrak train station near Orange Grove and Churton streets could look as viewed from a proposed greenway across the railroad tracks to downtown Hillsborough.
An architect’s rendering shows how an Amtrak train station near Orange Grove and Churton streets could look as viewed from a proposed greenway across the railroad tracks to downtown Hillsborough.

“I”m really hoping that the train station becomes a destination, not just for people who are coming to visit the staff that’s located in the building or the station itself,” Trueblood said. “It’s a place where people can get off the greenway and use the bathroom. It’s a place where people can meet their knitting club and sit outside.”

Environmental sustainability is central to that concept, project officials said, from natural daylighting to renewable energy, a green roof, and a stormwater pond, swales and wetlands.

The site’s 40-foot change in elevation makes the topography “challenging” but also “quite wonderful,” said Eric Davis, landscape architect and vice president of Surface 678. The company is working with architects at Clearscapes to design the station.

“We want to make sure that everyone has access to the site,” Davis said. “But the wonderful thing about this is it provides opportunities to integrate stormwater features and to also really accent the site in terms of key views and sightlines.”

The draft floor plan for an Amtrak train station in Hillsborough includes ticket, office and waiting areas for rail passengers, but also shows a future town board room with seating for over 200 people and smaller public meeting spaces.
The draft floor plan for an Amtrak train station in Hillsborough includes ticket, office and waiting areas for rail passengers, but also shows a future town board room with seating for over 200 people and smaller public meeting spaces.

Project feedback, rising cost

On Monday, the town’s Board of Commissioners applauded the first draft of architectural and landscape designs for the 6.4-acre Amtrak station, a key piece of Orange County’s local and regional transit plan.

“I’m blown away,” Commissioner Kathleen Ferguson said. Others shared her perspective, including Commissioner Robb English, who praised “the innovation that you’re showing in ... demonstrating how green a building can be built.”

It’s “super exciting,” Mayor Jennifer Weaver said. “I know it’s not exactly the precise rendering, but just the elements you’re bringing in and the spirit of this modern, sustainable building is really exciting.”

An architect’s vision of the entrance to Hillsborough’s future Amtrak train station off Churton and Orange Grove streets.
An architect’s vision of the entrance to Hillsborough’s future Amtrak train station off Churton and Orange Grove streets.

The cost to build the station is estimated at $8.1 million but could go up as the plan is completed, Town Manager Eric Peterson said.

The N.C. Department of Transportation agreed in 2020 to pay roughly $6.3 million toward the station’s construction, with GoTriangle paying $686,000 from Orange County’s transit revenues. The town has agreed to pay the rest and complete the project by 2027, barring a state extension.

NC Railroad deal, more planning

One of the biggest hurdles to moving forward is an agreement with the North Carolina Railroad, which owns the tracks and the land on both sides of the corridor, Trueblood said. That will clear the way for surveys to position the platforms where needed and complete the station design.

A proposed train station and civic building could occupy roughly six acres on the 20-acre site. Town officials could decide in the future how to best use the remaining land.
A proposed train station and civic building could occupy roughly six acres on the 20-acre site. Town officials could decide in the future how to best use the remaining land.

The work also will account for more tracks in the corridor to accommodate more trains, she said, and for the utilities that will be needed to serve boththe rail station, and all of the town’s future development plans.

Planning for the remaining 14 acres will start next year, Trueblood told the board. Previous discussions have included affordable housing and retail space to a performance center.

The town might need to complete a market analysis and look at other options, Trueblood said, including whether to seek a public-private partnership or sell some of the land to a developer.

The Orange Report

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