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Winston-Salem Approves $11.1 Million Union Station Renovation

Winston-Salem's Union Station. PAUL GARBER/WFDD

Winston-Salem leaders are moving forward with plans to renovate the historic Union Station building. The City Council approved a construction contract at Monday night's meeting.

Council members awarded a contract of just over $11 million to Winston-Salem-based New Atlantic Contracting, Inc. The approval came following a unanimous vote.

The contract had been delayed because New Atlantic fell short of goals the city had established for the participation of minority-owned businesses.

But Council member Derwin Montgomery tells the Winston-Salem Journal he's satisfied with the company's “good-faith effort” to meet those goals.

Union Station was built in 1926 to serve rail passengers, but closed in 1970, and was later sold to a private owner.

The three-story building will be renovated to house some transportation offices and retail space, with a long-term hope that the city can succeed in bringing back rail service.

The renovation is expected to take about 18 months to complete.

Neal Charnoff joined 88.5 WFDD as Morning Edition host in 2014. Raised in the Catskill region of upstate New York, he graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1983. Armed with a liberal arts degree, Neal was fully equipped to be a waiter. So he prolonged his arrested development bouncing around New York and L.A. until discovering that people enjoyed listening to his voice on the radio. After a few years doing overnight shifts at a local rock station, Neal spent most of his career at Vermont Public Radio. He began as host of a nightly jazz program, where he was proud to interview many of his idols, including Dave Brubeck and Sonny Rollins. Neal graduated to the news department, where he was the local host for NPR's All Things Considered for 14 years. In addition to news interviews and features, he originated and produced the Weekly Conversation On The Arts, as well as VPR Backstage, which profiled theater productions around the state. He contributed several stories to NPR, including coverage of a devastating ice storm. Neal now sees the value of that liberal arts degree, and approaches life with the knowledge that all subjects and all art forms are connected to each other. Neal and his wife Judy are enjoying exploring North Carolina and points south. They would both be happy to never experience a Vermont winter again.

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