The Union Station, a well-known landmark in the Winston-Salem State community, may be restored.
The last train that pulled out of the Union Station was in 1970.
The station, a historical building, is also known as Davis Garage, located at 300 S. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, just beyond the university campus.
Davis Garage is an auto repair shop owned and operated by Harvey Davis.
Davis said that he will be relocating next year and selling the station to developer Bill Cannon.
The proposed plan by Cannon, titled “Excelsior Street Station,” for the historic depot will be a conversion into a transportation hub offering rail, bus and streetcar service.
Union Station opened in 1926 and served the Norfolk and Western, the Southern and Winston-Salem Southbound railways.
The trains went to Charlotte and Greensboro and as far as New York. After the construction of major interstate in the area, train travel decreased eventually causing the stations to close.
In 1976 the station was renovated and converted to Davis Garage, a auto repair shop.
Cannon says his plans include a mixed-use development with retail and office space, a hotel and possibly condominiums on an adjacent site. These changes include restoring the buildings initial use as a train station and as a hub for bus and streetcar service.
“This restoration will provide an economic boost for the area and the University. There are plans to build a walkway across the railroad tracks directly to the University [WSSU],” Davis said.
Cannon said, in a published interview with The Greensboro News & Record, that Union Station will be a very nice addition to the community. The building will include retail stores, banks, and restaurants.
The transportation hub should prove to be an ideal location for a bus terminal and connector trains to Amtrak.
“I think that reopening the station would be great for students traveling far distances,” said senior Kelli Martin from Ohio.
“I have seen a number of people waiting on the buses that travel to the Greensboro and High Point stations. It would be convenient for students to walk down the street and get on the train near campus.”
The Excelsior Street Station project will cost $12.6 million and is expected to take several years to complete. Negotiations between Davis and Cannon are pending but plans should be finalized by the middle of next year.
“I am glad to see this place become what it used to be, but I’m sad to be leaving,” Davis said. “It’s been a privilege and very humbling to be here.”