HILLSBOROUGH - The Town of Hillsborough has signed an offer to pay $600,000 for about 20 acres south of downtown that could someday house a railroad station.

The property, north of Daniel Boone Village, includes ball fields used by the Hillsborough Youth Athletic Association. The town would continue to lease the fields to the association at a nominal fee.

"It is a financially wise move," Mayor Tom Stevens said in a statement Thursday. "It gives our community a greater say in how this key area in the center of Hillsborough is developed."

The land was included in a redevelopment plan for the shopping center and surrounding property that American Asset Corp. withdrew last year.

The N.C. Department of Transportation and Amtrak have told the town that a rail stop is financially feasible and advised the town on what it needs to do next. Other than the rail and/or transit stop and continued use of the ball fields, the town doesn't have specific plans for the site, Town Manager Eric Peterson said in an interview.

Any rail stop is years away, but banking the land for future space needs makes sense, he said. "If a developer wants to come in and flatten all this, we would lose two major assets," Peterson said. "There is a lot of risk if this gets developed in the wrong way."

The purchase would be funded over 15 years at about $58,000 a year, the equivalent of a penny on the current tax rate, Peterson said.

The property is accessed by Orange Grove Street. Its northern border is the N.C. Railroad line, which passes east/west under Churton Street. Its western border is adjacent to properties along Churton Street, such as Cardinal State Bank and CBS Car Sales.