Mayor James Ireton, Jr. announced today that the City has completed curbing and sidewalk installation along Wilson and W. Railroad Streets as part of a public/private partnership with the Knorr Brothers to bring a farmers’ market to the former Union Railroad Station.
Completed in 1914, Union Station served travelers for over 40 years, until the Pennsylvania Railroad discontinued passenger service in 1958. During its heyday, the station is said to have seen traffic in the hundreds—sometimes thousands of people per day. Due to its significance as a transportation landmark of the Delmarva Peninsula, the station has been placed on the National Registry of Historic Places.
In the years since, the station has changed hands several times; at turns serving various commercial purposes, or sitting in disuse. Its current owners, the Knorr Brothers, are well-known, local restaurateurs whose successes include Boonies, Sobo’s, Evolution Craft Brewing, and, perhaps most famously, the beloved Red Roost.
Today, the Mayor announced that with the installation of curbing and sidewalks finished, the City is nearing completion of physical upgrades meant to ready the streets around the old Union Station for new commercial traffic. Also being completed this week is removal of an old cast iron water main, which will be replaced with a new water service.
“When we were approached by John and Tom Knorr about partnering to bring new business to the heart of the City, my question was: what can the City do to help?” said the Mayor. “We are in the process of contracting to install a new underground electric service which will also allow us to install three new LED streetlights. With the completion of the concrete and underground utilities, Wilson and West Railroad Streets will be milled and paved from Route 13 to Elizabeth Street, providing smooth road surface and additional parking for patrons. This collaboration is an example of what can happen when government and business work together. I look forward to seeing this farmers’ market open its doors in spring of 2016.”
