Final four vie for Philly Amtrak station project

Written by Stuart Chirls, senior editor, Railway Age
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Image courtesy of Amtrak

Amtrak has narrowed to four teams in its search for a master developer for its Northeast Corridor station project in Philadelphia.

The national passenger train operator said the teams –Brandywine Realty Trust: Brandywine, Pelli Clarke, Pelli Architects, WSP, CBRE; G30 Collaborative: Meridiam, Gensler, Gannett Fleming, Turner Construction, Aramark, MarketPlace, and WeWork; PHL 30 Vision LLC: JLL, FXCollaborative, AKF, Pennoni, ARUP, Jingoli, JLL Plenary Infrastructure, and PHL: Plenary, SOM, Pennoni, Arora, Urban, AKRF, Gilbane Building, Johnson Controls, Vantage, and Republic – responded to a Request for Qualification to update the historic William H. Gray III 30th Street Station.

A preferred developer will be selected to assist in introducing new customer amenities, reinvigorating the retail and commercial potential of the station, enhancing transit and pedestrian traffic flow, and expanding the station’s concourses to accommodate anticipated increases in ridership.

“The selection of the four teams is a significant milestone, as it represents the next step in realizing the future vision of the William H. Gray III 30th Street Station,” Amtrak Senior Program Manager Natalie Shieh said. “By partnering with the right development team, Amtrak will update this major transportation hub as a world-class gateway for the traveling public and Philadelphia.”

The hub was opened in 1933 at 2955 Market Street by the Pennsylvania Railroad, which was headquartered in Philadelphia. It’s the third-busiest station in Amtrak’s network, serving a total of 12 million Amtrak, SEPTA and NJ Transit riders each a year.

Amtrak recently spent more than $100 million on improvements, including the current refurbishment of the building facade, improvements to the public restrooms, replacement of the customer elevators and escalators, and restoration of the historic bronze entrance doors.

Amtrak will issue a Request for Proposals from the four teams and award a contract in 2019.

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