Dive Brief:
- A recent pre-bid tour of New York City’s Pennsylvania Station, in advance of what state officials say will be a $3 billion dollar overhaul, drew some of the biggest names in real estate, construction and finance, according to Crain’s New York Business.
- Potential bidders and lenders, including Boston Properties, Tishman Speyer, Related Cos., Barclays and Macquarie Capital were on hand to view the station, which hosts an estimated 650,000 commuters a day. Major construction and architecture firms, including Tutor Perini, Skanska and Thornton Tomasetti, also toured the project, according to Crain's.
- State agency Empire State Development Corp. has been charged with conducting the bidding process for the station’s renovation, as well as that of the historic Farley Post Office Building next door, which could eventually include a hotel and retail space.
Dive Insight:
In January, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the Penn Station renovation as part of "the largest construction program in the modern history of the state," which includes a $22 billion investment in upstate infrastructure, a third track for the Long Island Rail Road’s Main Line, and a $1 billion expansion of the Javits Center, the city's primary convention venue.
Cuomo’s plan also includes the renovation of the Farley next door, which he said will be turned into a station concourse. Penn Station and the Farley post office together would be known as the Empire Station Complex.
Cuomo said the Penn Station project, when complete, will connect airports, commuter rail networks and roads with a larger regional area and will "make the state for the next 100 years." Officials also said in January that their goal was to attract private investment in return for the retail rights at the station.
