Moynihan Station

January 24, 2019

First look at Amtrak’s new amenity space in revamped Moynihan Train Hall

New renderings, as well as additional details, were released this week of Amtrak's new amenity space in Moynihan Train Hall. ClubAcela is getting rebranded as the Metropolitan Lounge and moving across the street from Penn Station to the new train hall, which is set to open in early 2021. Designed by FXCollaborative, the sleek new space offers more room, private restrooms, free WiFi, and better food and drink options.
See the renderings
September 6, 2018

Cuomo reveals new LIRR entrance and public plaza at Penn Station

Rendering via the Governor's office At a well-timed press event this morning, Governor Cuomo touted the state's $100 billion building program, the largest in the nation, and said if elected for another term, he'd increase that commitment to $150 billion. Among the many airport redesigns and the subway emergency plan, perhaps no project is more dear to Cuomo's heart than that of Penn Station. And after a tour of the Moynihan Train Hall, on budget and on track to open by the end of 2020, the Governor announced that the dire safety, security, and circulation situation at Penn Station cannot wait two more years. While construction wraps up at the LIRR and Amtrak's future home, the state will build a new LIRR facility in the existing Penn Station. The proposal will double access to the trains with new entrances and an enlarged concourse and will create a permanent public plaza at 33rd Street and 7th Avenue.
All the renderings and details ahead
September 6, 2018

PHOTOS: Get an up-close look at Moynihan Train Hall’s massive new skylights

At a construction tour of Moynihan Train Hall this morning, 6sqft had the rare opportunity to get up close and personal with the massive skylights that will crown this new concourse. The transformation of the historic James A. Farley Post Office into a bright, modern transportation hub is on time and on budget for its late 2020 opening, at which time it will increase the footprint of Penn Station by 50 percent, providing a new home for the LIRR and Amtrak. To date, 800 people working every day have logged more than one million hours of labor, and the four, massive skylights are perhaps the most stunning example of their efforts.
See all the views
June 21, 2018

PHOTOS: See Moynihan Train Hall’s massive skylight being installed

After starting construction last summer, Skidmore Owings & Merrill (SOM)'s reimagined Moynihan Train Hall is now beginning to take shape. Part of Governor Cuomo's Empire Station Complex revamp of Penn Station, the old James A. Farley Post Office will be transformed into a crystal palace-esque boarding concourse with a 92-foot high skylight atop the 1913 building's original steel trusses. CityRealty recently got an exclusive aerial look at how construction is progressing on the glass skylights ahead of the Train Hall's anticipated 2020 opening.
See more construction shots
June 16, 2017

Construction to finally begin on the new Penn Station – see new renderings!

Just a day after Penn Station‘s long-awaited West End Concourse revealed itself to the public, for the first time allowing Amtrak, Long Island Rail Road, and NJ Transit passengers to enter and board trains through the historic James A. Farley Post Office across 8th Avenue, Governor Cuomo has announced that Empire State Development signed the final financial agreement with Related Companies, Vornado Realty LP, and Skanska AB for the $1.6 billion Penn-Farley Complex. After decades of delays, construction will now begin to transform the historic post office into the Moynihan Train Hall, a new 255,000-square-foot train hall housing both Amtrak and LIRR ticketing and waiting areas, as well as 70,000 square feet of new commercial, retail, and dining space. But a development announcement from the Governor is never complete without a fresh set of renderings, and Cuomo did not disappoint this time.
All the renderings and details ahead
June 15, 2017

FIRST LOOK: See inside Penn Station’s brand new West End Concourse

As of today, Penn Station's long-awaited West End Concourse--the first tangible step towards Governor Cuomo's ambitious plan to transform the James A. Farley Post Office into the new Moynihan Train Hall--is open for business, for the first time allowing Amtrak, Long Island Rail Road, and NJ Transit passengers to enter and board trains through the historic building across 8th Avenue. In addition to landscaped entryways, the sparkling new concourse is chock full of LED screens, artwork, and, in true Cuomo fashion, bright, open, and high-tech spaces.
Take the full tour
April 21, 2017

Work to begin this spring on Penn Station-Moynihan Train Hall complex

This spring, the 650,000 commuters who travel through Penn Station daily may finally start to witness Governor Cuomo’s $1.6 billion plan to revamp what he called the “overcrowded, decrepit and claustrophobic” station into a more spacious and high-tech transit hub. As the Daily News reports, the first phase of the overall Moynihan Station Development Project will begin soon, extending Penn Station’s West End Concourse to reduce congestion. The second phase will transform the James A. Farley Post Office into the new Moynihan Train Hall, which will hold more than 112,000 square feet of retail and 588,000 square feet of office space, in addition to new ticketing and waiting areas for Amtrak and Long Island Railroad passengers.
More details right this way
December 12, 2016

Amtrak’s Hudson River tunnels project could bring 3 years of traffic jams

Back in January, Amtrak unveiled its $24B Gateway Program, a plan that would overhaul the Hudson River rail tunnels by building a brand new tunnel and repairing another that is currently in disrepair. Work under the plan would also encompass expanding Pennsylvania Station in Manhattan and replacing rail bridges in New Jersey. While details on the course of construction were previously thin, according to draft proposals obtained by Reuters, we now know that work on the new tunnel will begin in 2019, and the West Side Highway could be subject to three years of traffic jams as a result.
more details here
October 5, 2016

POLL: Which Penn Station scheme do you prefer, Governor Cuomo’s or Vishaan Chakrabarti’s?

When Governor Cuomo revealed his plans for a new Penn Station-Moynihan Train Hall complex early last week, things seemed to be moving full steam towards a 2020 completion date thanks to flashy renderings and the selection of a high-profile developer-builder team. But architect Vishaan Chakrabarti was not convinced, and he and his firm the Practice for Architecture and Urbanism decided to create their own vision, one that repurposes Madison Square Garden, a facet of the plan he feels Cuomo failed to address.
Tell us which scheme you prefer
September 30, 2016

Vishaan Chakrabarti reveals idea to repurpose Madison Square Garden as part of the Penn Station overhaul

Earlier this week, Governor Cuomo revealed plans to transform a revamped Penn Station-Moynihan Train Hall complex into a "world-class 21st century transportation hub." Despite the flashy new renderings and promise of a 2020 completion date, not everyone is sold on the plan, including Vishaan Chakrabarti, former principal of SHoP Architects and founder of the Practice for Architecture and Urbanism. As outlined in the Times, he feels that Cuomo's scheme has one glaring omission--Madison Square Garden. Instead of demolishing the arena, as earlier plans had called for, Chakrabarti proposes repurposing it and "using its stripped skeleton to make a glass pavilion, which becomes a neighborhood gathering spot, not just a station." The venue would then move to the west end of the Farley Building.
Lots more details and renderings ahead
September 29, 2016

MTA board member asks who will pay for Penn Station overhaul

As 6sqft previously reported, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced plans early this week for a $1.6 billion overhaul of Penn Station, and further details revealed that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority would be responsible for $150 of the project's costs. Since those plans were released, questions have been raised about where that organization's share of the tab would be coming from in an already stretched budget.
So where is this money coming from?
September 28, 2016

REVEALED: Governor Cuomo unveils plans for new Penn Station-Moynihan Train Hall complex

In a presentation (pdf) Tuesday at the Association for a Better New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that plans for transforming a revamped Penn Station-Moynihan Train Hall complex into a "world-class 21st century transportation hub" were back on track and ready to roll, complete with a slew of new renderings and the selection of a developer-builder team including the Related Companies, Vornado, and Skanska AB, to redevelop the Farley Building.
Find out all the details
January 21, 2016

Amtrak Estimates Penn Station and Hudson River Tunnel Projects Will Cost $24B

When Governor Cuomo announced his $3 billion revamp of Penn Station earlier this month, skeptics were quick to point out that all the glassy new structures and reconfiguration of waiting rooms won't do anything to help the fact that the Hudson River rail tunnels are crumbling. Clearly on the same page, Amtrak announced yesterday a detailed overview of the entire infrastructure project, and it comes in at a whopping $23.9 billion. According to the Times, "the largest share of about $7.7 billion [will go towards] building the new Hudson tunnel and repairing the existing tunnel. The project includes a host of other elements, including expanding Pennsylvania Station in Manhattan at an estimated cost of $5.9 billion, and replacing rail bridges in New Jersey."
Find out more
January 7, 2016

Renderings Revealed for Governor Cuomo’s $3B Penn Station Overhaul

6sqft asked readers yesterday if Governor Cuomo would finally be able to get the Penn Station overhaul off the ground, after various news outlets reported that he would be announcing a plan to do just this. The majority of you said it wasn't going to happen, but it looks like the long-envisioned project has just gotten one step closer to reality. During a press conference yesterday at Madison Square Garden, the Governor revealed that he'll be heading up a major revamp of Penn Station, which he called "un-New York," according to Gothamist. The more than $3 billion redevelopment has been dubbed the Empire Station Complex, and a request for proposals will go out this week, due back in 90 days (not good news for the decade-old deal with developers Related Cos. and Vornado Realty). As expected, it includes the long-stalled Moynihan Station project that will convert the adjacent Farley Post Office into a large waiting area, similar in size to the main room at Grand Central. This will increase the size of the nation's busiest transit hub by 50 percent and will connect to the current station by a network of underground tunnels. Though several options are on the table for a redesign, the renderings released by the Governor's office show a glassy and light structure that's quite unlike the current space that Cuomo described as "dark, constrained, ugly, a lost opportunity, a bleak warren of corridors… a miserable experience and a terrible first impression."
More details and renderings ahead
January 6, 2016

POLL: Can Governor Cuomo Finally Get the Penn Station Overhaul off the Ground?

After chatter last month that the state may reboot the plan to expand Penn Station into the adjacent Farley Post Office, the Wall Street Journal is now reporting that Governor Cuomo will announce this week a full overhaul for the nation’s busiest transit hub. It’s expected that his plan will indeed include the projected $900 million post office redevelopment […]

December 15, 2015

State May Reboot Plan for Penn Station Expansion at the Farley Post Office

In 2005, the state selected the Related Cos. and Vornado Realty to oversee a $900 million redevelopment of the Penn Station-adjacent James A. Farley Post Office. The project, which came to be known as Moynihan Station, would have turned the full-block structure into an annex for Penn Station. The developers twice tried and failed to move Madison Square Garden into the space; they were also unsuccessful attracting a community college or CBS to the location. And after a promise to close this year on the deal was left empty, Governor Cuomo seems to have had enough. The New York Times reports that he and state officials met with Related and Vornado last week to voice frustrations about the long-stalled project and express the possibility that they'll be replaced.
Details on the possible shakeup
September 17, 2014

Real Estate Wire: Trump Soho Off to the Auction Block; Moynihan Station Project Gets $40M in Federal Funding

Unsellable condos at the Trump Soho have sent the building into foreclosure and off to the auction block. [WSJ] The Federal Transit Administration handed out $1.9B for Sandy-related upgrades, yesterday. $40M of the available funds will go towards the Moynihan Station and about $13 million will go to the planned $700 million second phase of the project that will turn the […]