Plans to be presented for Hillsborough rail station

The Hillsborough Rail Station Task Force will present the proposed plans for about 20 acres of town land March 31 at the Orange County Public Library from 6 to 7:30 p.m.
This session will allow Hillsborough residents to give input about the land’s use and the proposed plans.

“This has a lot of potential,” said Tom King, Hillsborough senior planner. “It is a great opportunity for that area and for the town as a whole.”

King helped to staff the task force of community members, architects and two participants of Hillsborough Youth Athletics. They have prepared a conceptual land-use and site plan for the 20 acres off Orange Grove Street the town purchased in 2008.

“The proposed use of the land is for a rail station building with space for municipal meetings and potentially a fire station, police station and community arts center,” said King.

The land is located south of the N.C. Railroad line which passes under Churton Street and east of properties along Churton Street, including the Cardinal State Bank and CBS Car Sales.

In addition to the conceptual site plan, the task force has recommended a general transportation network and a set of land-use plans for the “Collins property,” an adjacent tract to the south and behind the Daniel Boone shopping center.

“I would love to see more public transportation options in general offered to area residents,” said Doug Edmunds, a Hillsborough resident. “Depending on which lines the new rail station connects to, I think it would potentially bring more people through the town and help with future business growth.”

Residents are encouraged to attend the public input session on March 31 or to submit comments through the town’s Web site where proposed plans and a comment submission form will be available after the public input session.

King said: “Getting feedback from citizens is important. We want to know how the public wants us to use this space. It is always better to have collaborated with citizens beforehand than have them react later.”

“I love the idea of a community arts center as a hub of social activity near downtown Hillsborough,” said Edmunds. “With our beautiful new library and town office facility, I am more skeptical about the need for additional municipal meeting spaces, but I certainly have no complaint with new fire and police stations.”

Though the task force has a jump start on the planning process, there are still many questions about how it will be funded.

“The town does not have any plans of funding the project through the general funds budget,” said Hillsborough budget and management analyst Emily Bradford.

King said the project must rely on grants, congressional appropriations and stimulus money.

“Unfortunately, there aren’t many grants for building a rail station,” said King. “Projects must be ‘shovel-ready’ before we can receive any stimulus money and we are not even close to that yet.”

The task force plans to present a finalized site plan and report to the town board in late spring.