ALL ABOARD.

AuthorMartin, Cathy
PositionSTATEWIDE: Triangle

Raleigh leaders are hoping a new train station in the city's up-and-coming Warehouse District will attract more than just rail passengers. Construction on the 26,000-square-foot Union Station was largely completed in April, and trains will begin rolling into the station later this summer.

Built at the site of the former Dillon Supply warehouse, the station replaces a nearby Amtrak station on Cabarrus Street, where about 155,000 passengers pass through annually. The 9,200-square-foot waiting area is five times bigger than the existing station, accommodating growth as Amtrak and the N.C. Department of Transportation add a fourth daily round-trip service between Raleigh and Charlotte, beginning June 4--The Raleigh station also serves Amtrak's daily passenger train that runs from New York to Miami.

Construction on the $110 million project was started in January 2016 by a joint venture of Skanska and Raleigh-based Clancy & Theys and Holt Brothers Construction. The site had been mostly vacant since 2005. The station has the first level-boarding area in the state, allowing safer access for passengers with wheelchairs and strollers.

Union Station includes more than 14,000 square feet of space on three levels for offices, retail shops and restaurants, plus indoor and outdoor space for civic events. On the third floor, an 1,800-square-foot patio provides a skyline view of downtown. Though no tenants had been signed as of mid-May, showings have been brisk, says David Eatman, Raleigh's transit administrator.

Talk of building a train station in the area started in the '90s.

"What...

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