A long-awaited overhaul of New York's Pennsylvania Station is now full steam ahead, according to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who touted sweeping plans Tuesday to create a new "world-class" transportation hub for Amtrak and the Long Island Rail Road as part of a public-private partnership.
Gov. Cuomo said the $1.6 billion project will relocate the LIRR and Amtrak operations to a new 255,000 square foot train hall at the old Farley Post Office building across the street from the current Penn Station in midtown Manhattan. The Democratic governor said construction on the facility, which will be named Moynihan Train Hall after former U.S. Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, will begin this fall after 20 years of stalled progress under a fixed-price design-build contract. Cuomo estimates a December 2020 completion date for the long-awaited station that initially was slated to only house Amtrak and not the LIRR.
"With more than twice the passengers of all JFK, LaGuardia, and Newark airports combined, the current Penn Station is overcrowded, decrepit, and claustrophobic," said Cuomo in a statement. "The Moynihan Train Hall will have more space than Grand Central's main concourse, housing both Amtrak and LIRR ticketing and waiting areas, along with state-of-the-art security features, a modern, digital passenger experience and a host of dining and retail options."
Cuomo said developers Related Companies, Vornado Realty and Skanska AB were chosen for the upgrades as part of a request for proposals process issued in January by Empire State Development, the MTA, LIRR and Amtrak. The firms will pay the state roughly $600 million for the development rights within the Farley Building, which in addition to the new Moynihan Train Hall will also include 112,000 square feet of retail and nearly 588,000 square feet of office space. The remaining costs will be backed by $570 million from Empire State Development and $425 million from a combination of Amtrak, LIRR, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and federal government sources.
Cuomo added that the MTA will also initiate a comprehensive redesign of the LIRR's existing 33rd Street concourse at Penn Station and an "extensive renovation" to the adjacent Seventh and Eighth Avenue subway stations. The LIRR redesign will involve nearly tripling the width of the existing corridor to help decrease congestion.
