Raleigh leaders: full speed ahead on Union Station

The Raleigh City Council is picking up the tab for extra Union Station costs after some outgoing members insisted that the city spend what it takes to build an iconic transit hub.

Union Station is a bus and rail station that federal, state and local authorities plan to open in 2017 on Martin Street in downtown’s warehouse district. Including rail upgrades outside of Raleigh, the entire project was expected to cost about $80 million, with about $44.7 million slated for the hub itself.

Because of the rising cost of steel and concrete, the final hub price jumped about $10 million to $54.7 million in recent months after the city received construction bids.

Planners were able to identify $2.9 million in savings without altering the project. Tuesday, the Raleigh City Council unanimously approved the $7.2 million of additional spending needed to complete the hub without cutting some of its features.

At a time when some council members expressed concern about spending the extra money, the most ardent support for funding the project in full came from three outgoing councilmen.

“It sets the tone for what our expectations are from the private sector,” said Councilman Wayne Maiorano, a Republican who didn’t seek reelection in the recent election.

“I wholeheartedly agree with the councilman,” said councilman Eugene Weeks, a Democrat representing southeast Raleigh who lost his reelection bid.

Councilman John Odom, a Republican who recently lost his bid to continue representing North Raleigh, emphasized the project’s importance during a work session last month. There, council members Kay Crowder, Russ Stephenson and Bonner Gaylord expressed reservations about providing funding. On Tuesday, city planners presented the council with several options.

Rather than spending the entire $7.2 million, the council could have saved about $2.6 million by postponing construction of a plaza, canopy, rooftop terrace and various finishes.

It could have saved about $1.3 million by building the plaza but postponing construction of the canopy, rooftop terrace and other finishes. About $1 million could have been saved by building the plaza and rooftop terrace, but not the canopy or other finishes.

Though Crowder said she worried that spending money would leave them with less to deal with overruns that might occur during the construction process, she supported Maiorano’s motion to fully fund the project.

Stephenson said he thinks Union Station is key to downtown’s growth, but he doesn’t see the canopy as a critical feature.

“But it certainly will enhance that plaza and the overall project so I will be supporting this,” he said.

This story was originally published November 4, 2015 at 6:51 PM with the headline "Raleigh leaders: full speed ahead on Union Station."