Historic Philadelphia Amtrak station getting major reno

PHILADELPHIA, PA.—An agreement has been finalized to renovate and restore the William H. Gray III 30th Street Station in Philadelphia.

Amtrak and Plenary Infrastructure Philadelphia (PIP) announced they reached financial close on a lease and development agreement for the project. Under the agreement, PIP will refurbish and improve the historic building, finance those improvements and maintain the station for a 50-year term.

“This important milestone in the Gray 30th Street Station Redevelopment Project is part of Amtrak’s overall strategy to enhance the customer experience and operations at our major stations,” said Dennis Newman, executive vice-president of planning and asset development for Amtrak, in a statement. “The scope of this work will transform this historic Philadelphia landmark into a modern world-class station with superior amenities, better intermodal connectivity and new customer-facing improvements over the next five years.”

The station is more than 100 years old and is Amtrak’s third busiest station. Amtrak officials stated the redevelopment project will seek to restore and highlight the historic fabric of the station, while refining the customer experience by introducing new amenities, reinvigorating the station’s retail and commercial potential, improving and expanding existing office space and enhancing transit and pedestrian traffic flows.

The project is the first major phase of Amtrak’s efforts to implement the Gray 30th Street Station District Plan. It includes nearly 500,000 square feet of renovation and modernization. Construction on the renovation is expected to begin in 2022 and be complete in 2025.

Key members of the PIP team include: Plenary Americas as lead developer, Gilbane Building Company as design-build lead, Johnson Controls Inc. for facility operations and maintenance, and Vantage Airport Group for concessions development and management.

Amtrak’s master developer partner, PIP, was selected by Amtrak through a competitive procurement process and will be leasing the station in order to deliver the full scope of work to design, construct and maintain the station building.