Washington DC Union Station redevelpment plans

[afigg]

This is good news, but the 2019 Completion date is optimistic! I wouldn't bet the house on it being completed on time or budget!

And how are the repairs coming along from the earthquake that damaged the Washington Monument and Union Station?

I've always thought that it was too much like a Mall, and had lots of wasted space not used for passenger service that perhaps the remodel will remedy if the announced plans are correct!

Yes, they turned DC Union Station into a shopping mall, but it is a successful shopping and restaurant mall that generates significant revenue to the redevelopment corporation that runs the station. Which gets back into maintaining and improving the station. BTW, the lower level space where the food court is will have a Walgreens opening soon. Might be useful as a place to get needed supplies for those making connections between LD trains at WAS.

As for the earthquake damage, I think they fixed almost all of it a while back. But in the course of repairing the damage to the ceiling in the main hall, they discovered problems with peeling gold leaf and crumbling plaster. So the repair work was expanded for a more extensive repair and renovation, which is still going on. USRC webpage on the main hall repair.

 

[Bob Dylan]

Thanks for the update and link!

I look forward to seeing my old "Home" Station once again in October @ the Gathering!

 

[WoodyinNYC]

This is good news, but the 2019 Completion date is optimistic! I wouldn't bet the house on it being completed on time or budget!

And how are the repairs coming along from the earthquake that damaged the Washington Monument and Union Station?

I've always thought that it was too much like a Mall, and had lots of wasted space not used for passenger service that perhaps the remodel will remedy if the announced plans are correct!

Confess that I didn't read the pdf report. But in the quoted paragraphs, there's nothing stating that more mall or retail facilities are in the plan. If they're removing walls and various Amtrak-itself facilities to make more openness in the currently cramped space, then hip, hip, hooray!

 

[Eric S]

Of course, nothing in the fact sheet about Amtrak's boarding procedures causing a nontrivial portion of the congestion. (Not that I expected to see anything about changing those procedures, though.)

 

[The Davy Crockett]

I wonder where the ClubAcela will move to?

 

[Bob Dylan]

I wonder where the ClubAcela will move to?

The current location is good, it just needs to be larger!

Wherever it ends up being, easy access to the gates, as now exists, will be the ideal way to go!

Hopefully it won't end up downstairs with the rats where the theater used to be!

 

[afigg]

While there has not been much publicity on the progress of the master plan for WAS, Amtrak is seeking to acquire the Railway Express building and property that is adjacent to the tracks on the eastern side for $35 million through eminent domain. Whether the $35 million is coming entirely from Amtrak or some from the developer who wants to build over the tracks and/or Union Station Redevelopment Corporation, article doesn't get into that aspect.

Washington Business Journal: Amtrak forced to defend decision to condemn a Northeast D.C. office building. Excerpt:

Amtrak has condemned a commercial office building in Northeast D.C. as it gears up for a major expansion project at Union Station nearby — and the move has left the property's owner crying foul.

That's because Amtrak gave what the building's owner considers an overly vague reason for using eminent domain to take the roughly 113,000-square foot Railway Express building at 900 Second St. NE along with an adjacent lot. Both are located next to the railroad tracks just north of Union Station. Fluorine LLC argues in new court filings that the $35 million Amtrak offered for the property before filing for eminent domain was less than the income-generating office building is worth and that Amtrak has failed to show it had the legal authority to take it.

Amtrak has until Oct. 28 to respond to the allegation.

The dispute comes as Amtrak is planning a major overhaul of Union Station designed to increase capacity and speed for the southern-most stop in its busy Northeast Corridor. The D.C.-based rail service provider claims in court documents it needs the building and adjacent land to support that work. The rail service needs to acquire the roughly 3.4 acres of land to ensure it has access to more than 40 electrical and communication easements tied to the property as well as an electrical substation on the property.

 

[Hal]

While there has not been much publicity on the progress of the master plan for WAS, Amtrak is seeking to acquire the Railway Express building and property that is adjacent to the tracks on the eastern side for $35 million through eminent domain. Whether the $35 million is coming entirely from Amtrak or some from the developer who wants to build over the tracks and/or Union Station Redevelopment Corporation, article doesn't get into that aspect.

Washington Business Journal: Amtrak forced to defend decision to condemn a Northeast D.C. office building. Excerpt:

Amtrak has condemned a commercial office building in Northeast D.C. as it gears up for a major expansion project at Union Station nearby — and the move has left the property's owner crying foul.

That's because Amtrak gave what the building's owner considers an overly vague reason for using eminent domain to take the roughly 113,000-square foot Railway Express building at 900 Second St. NE along with an adjacent lot. Both are located next to the railroad tracks just north of Union Station. Fluorine LLC argues in new court filings that the $35 million Amtrak offered for the property before filing for eminent domain was less than the income-generating office building is worth and that Amtrak has failed to show it had the legal authority to take it.

Amtrak has until Oct. 28 to respond to the allegation.

The dispute comes as Amtrak is planning a major overhaul of Union Station designed to increase capacity and speed for the southern-most stop in its busy Northeast Corridor. The D.C.-based rail service provider claims in court documents it needs the building and adjacent land to support that work. The rail service needs to acquire the roughly 3.4 acres of land to ensure it has access to more than 40 electrical and communication easements tied to the property as well as an electrical substation on the property.

They had the opportunity about 25 or 30 years ago to buy that building and it was a hugh mistake in my opinion that Amtrak decided not to buy it back then. It did not require any foresight with the substation there that they would need that property. Also since then many Amtrak offices are renting space in the building. Washington operations and Commuter operations are in there.

 

[neroden]

The developer's claim that Amtrak doesn't have legal authority to take the building is totally bogus; I'm pretty sure Amtrak will get a ruling that it has legal authority to take the building very quickly.

There will probably be a drawn-out case over the money.

 

[StriderGDM]

The developer's claim that Amtrak doesn't have legal authority to take the building is totally bogus; I'm pretty sure Amtrak will get a ruling that it has legal authority to take the building very quickly.

There will probably be a drawn-out case over the money.

What legal authority? I think it depends in part of Amtrak wants to claim it's a private organization or a government agency. If it's the former, I'm not sure what DC's stance is since Kelo vs. New London was decided (which certainly would permit DC to take it on behave of a private organization).

 

[PRR 60]

The developer's claim that Amtrak doesn't have legal authority to take the building is totally bogus; I'm pretty sure Amtrak will get a ruling that it has legal authority to take the building very quickly.

There will probably be a drawn-out case over the money.

What legal authority? I think it depends in part of Amtrak wants to claim it's a private organization or a government agency. If it's the former, I'm not sure what DC's stance is since Kelo vs. New London was decided (which certainly would permit DC to take it on behave of a private organization).

I can confirm first hand that Amtrak has federal eminent domain authority. A few years ago I was on the wrong end of an eminent domain take by Amtrak.

 

[neroden]

Amtrak has explicit eminent domain provisions written into federal law just for Amtrak.

 

[StriderGDM]

Amtrak has explicit eminent domain provisions written into federal law just for Amtrak.

Ah interesting, I was not aware of that. Thanks.

 

[afigg]

They had the opportunity about 25 or 30 years ago to buy that building and it was a hugh mistake in my opinion that Amtrak decided not to buy it back then. It did not require any foresight with the substation there that they would need that property. Also since then many Amtrak offices are renting space in the building. Washington operations and Commuter operations are in there.

Amtrak could presumably have brought the building and property for a whole lot cheaper 25 to 30 years ago. Even 10+ years ago it would have been much less expensive to buy property in what is now known as the NoMA neighborhood. Now the area north of Union Station has undergone a major renaissance and property values have shot up. So it will cost Amtrak at least $35 million to acquire the property, which is not chump change.

 

[StriderGDM]

They had the opportunity about 25 or 30 years ago to buy that building and it was a hugh mistake in my opinion that Amtrak decided not to buy it back then. It did not require any foresight with the substation there that they would need that property. Also since then many Amtrak offices are renting space in the building. Washington operations and Commuter operations are in there.

Amtrak could presumably have brought the building and property for a whole lot cheaper 25 to 30 years ago. Even 10+ years ago it would have been much less expensive to buy property in what is now known as the NoMA neighborhood. Now the area north of Union Station has undergone a major renaissance and property values have shot up. So it will cost Amtrak at least $35 million to acquire the property, which is not chump change.

30 years ago everyone was still holding their breath waiting for Amtrak to go away. Them trying to get money to buy real estate would have been impossible.

Even 10 years ago them getting money to buy a building probably wouldn't have passed the bean counters.

 

[jis]

I don't believe anyone was holding their breath for Amtrak to go away on the NEC by 1985, unless they were positively suicidal. The LD network maybe, but not the NEC.

 

[Blackshirt Husker]

DC already has one of the better big city stations in the country. Wish they'd take that same money and use it to upgrade Los Angeles Union Station.

 

[west point]

No money for LA Union station. Amtrak does not own it Metrolink does or some subsidiary.. There might be some federal money in the future to build the thru tracks.

 

[Blackshirt Husker]

No money for LA Union station. Amtrak does not own it Metrolink does or some subsidiary.. There might be some federal money in the future to build the thru tracks.

Thanks, West Point. Didn't know that.

 

[neroden]

LA Union has upgrade plans well in hand, thanks to LA Metro. Chicago has plans, but nobody ever seems to fund them. Really the big city stations which need major upgrades are stations like Detroit, Cleveland, Jacksonville... but the smaller stations need far more work.

 

[afigg]

No money for LA Union station. Amtrak does not own it Metrolink does or some subsidiary.. There might be some federal money in the future to build the thru tracks.

LA Union Station is doing fine. It is the hub station of the expanding LA Metro transit system. The through track project is now called the Southern California Regional Interconnection Project (SCRIP) and the schedule calls for construction to start in 2017. Thanks in large part to Governor Brown, CA has money to spend on transit and rail improvement projects.

As for the complaint about spending money on improving DC Union Station, I think those complaining have not been in WAS when the passenger area is jammed with boarding lines extending out of sight. From the days when the station was rebuilt into a shopping and dining destination, passenger traffic for Amtrak, MARC, and VRE has out grown the shrunk down space that was left for the passenger waiting and boarding area. The station needs a major overhaul to handle the current passenger traffic and expected growth over the next 20-30 years, put in new modern wide platforms with improved access, build a new concourse area, all in combination with the developer plans for a complex of buildings to go over the tracks. I don't expect the final result will be as fancy or nice as what was put into the Master Plan in 2012, the inevitable cuts to reduce costs will chip away at the station rebuild project over the several decades laid out in the plan. But DC Union Station will eventually see major incremental improvements in the rail passenger part of the station complex.

 

[Ryan]

Concur completely. WAS is 100% broken and dysfunctional during rush hour.

 

[west point]

The worse station without a doubt is San Antonio. On any Tuesday both east and west bound Sunset limited trains arrive in the middle of the night and then depart. If both are late and the southbound Eagle is very late which turns to the northbound Eagle you will have passengers for three outbound trains waiting. All this into a waiting room that can hold 20 -35 persons. Access to platforms is possible but the platforms are crummy and poorly lit. The other days Sunset operates is not as bad but ---------

If the Sunset ever goes daily then every day has the possible crowding.

New station in Atlanta is also needed. Here is a city built on Railroads and now has the world's highest passenger count at ATL airport.

 

[keelhauled]

In a wholly arbitrary measure of crappiness divided by number of passengers, it still seems like DC needs investment more. San Antonio may suck, but it only sucks for 60,000 people. Union Station serves five million. Is Union Station really 83 times worse than San Antonio?

 

[Carolina Special]

If you only travel through San Antonio and not DC, San Antonio would indeed suck more. But DC has many more visitors to help pay for their station upgrades than does San Antonio, so it should even out in suck terms.