Decades after SEPTA closed Shawmont Station, the 200-year-old building in Upper Roxborough could become a museum and community hub.

The former Manayunk/Norristown Regional Rail line stop is considered the oldest passenger railroad station building in the country, but it has fallen into disrepair since it was decommissioned in 1996. SEPTA awarded a contract to the city on Thursday that would fund the site's renovations.

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Per the proposed 20-year lease agreement, the city would pay SEPTA $1 annually for the property at 7700 Nixon St., with an option for a five-year renewal. The agreement has to be presented to City Council for final approval.

The city intends to sublease the property to the Historic Shawmont Station Society. The nonprofit, which has fought for the station's historical designation, would oversee the restoration and future operation of the site, SEPTA said. In turn, the city would be responsible for all expenses associated with renovating the building, which is estimated to cost around $972,000.

The agreement will save the transit authority the cost of improving the site and eliminate SEPTA's future maintenance obligations, SEPTA Board Chair Kenneth E. Lawrence Jr. said in a statement.

Shawmont Station was initially built in the 1820s and opened for horse-drawn passenger train service in 1834. The Greek Revival-style building is believed to have been designed by William Strickland, the former chief architect of the Philadelphia, Germantown and Norristown Railroad Company, according to Hidden City.

In 1991, Shawmont Station was demoted to a whistle stop, meaning train operators would only stop there at a passenger's request. The building's waiting room was shut down at the same time. Service to the station ceased altogether five years later.

The station was added to the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places in 2008, saving it from potential demolition. Exterior repairs to the  building were completed by SEPTA between 2021 and 2023, but the site's interior remains in poor condition, officials told KYW.

"We look forward to returning a long-vacant building to productive use, reducing the potential for vandalism and enhancing a prominent property located near the entrance to the Schuylkill River Trail," SEPTA General Manager Scott Sauer said in a statement.