Metro's been talking for a while about a downtown transit hub that would tie a bunch of bus lines, the MetroRail network and future bus rapid transit and commuter rail lines together, much like South Station in Boston, Union Station in D.C. and Grand Central Terminal in NYC. And now the idea is a step closer to reality, maybe — the Metro board has asked for a preliminary design for a huge transit station on 15 acres off North Main, just north of UH-Downtown.

"The issue is if we are going to do this, we want to enhance the community and make a real landmark," Metro board chairman David Wolff said.

Metro officials envision the station becoming the hub for many of Metro's services, serving as the starting and ending point for bus routes, rail lines, bus rapid-transit lines and commuter rail. Riders could transfer and catch a bus or train to their ultimate destination.

The project's estimated cost is about $150 million, and the building would not be completed until 2011 or 2012, Wolff said. Metro officials said federal money would be sought.

It is still in the conceptual stage and may not become a reality, and the location could change, Wolff said.

Ehrenkrantz Eckstut & Kuhn, the architects hired to come up with a plan for the station, also designed Houston's Main Street Square, the showcase pedestrian plaza that attracts very few pedestrians (but that's not the architects' fault). The announcement about the proposed station brings up a lot of questions — can a landmark station be built for $150 million? Isn't the proposed station site on the opposite end of downtown from Main and Wheeler, where the east-west rail line is supposed to intersect the current MetroRail line? Would the station help revitalize the North Main corridor, or would it fizzle like some other civic projects? We'll see.

Many people don't realize that Houston has already had a Grand Central Station, located where the Central Post Office now stands on Franklin downtown. It's too bad we didn't hang on to it — instead of a $150 million proposal, we might have a restored Art Deco building with a fantastic view of downtown.