Amtrak narrows developer field for Baltimore Penn Station revamp

Dive Brief:

Amtrak has released the names of the three finalists who will vie for the redevelopment contract for Baltimore's Penn Station, The Baltimore Sun reported.
The winning bidder will devise a "master plan" for the design, building and management of the property around the station and non-rail sections of the station itself. Amtrak will select a developer by the summer of 2017.
This project is seen as part of the rail company's plans to cash in on the property it owns around Amtrak stations nationwide.

Dive Insight:

The finalists are:

Penn Station Partners — Beatty Development, Armada Hoffler Properties and Cross Street Partners
Peebles-AZ Baltimore Penn — Peebles Corp., AZ Group, MacFarlane Partners, Williams Jackson Ewing and Marks, Thomas Architects
Brandywine Realty Trust — Ayers Saint Gross, Pinkard Properties, Clark Construction, and Madison Marquette

In its quest for a developer to construct and manage the redevelopment, Amtrak said it had requested that potential candidates submit their "vision" of what would work best at the station and in the surrounding neighborhood, including the utilization of about 40,000 square feet of office space located in the station. Amtrak has spent an estimated $20 million on repairs at the Baltimore station during the last six years, but the redevelopment will cost much more than that.

Amtrak officials have stated in the past that the company's primary concerns around the renovation are "design, community involvement and financing." Amtrak also said it will bring the station into Americans with Disabilities Act compliance. In the past, other potential bidders said they could bring financing to the table as part of the redevelopment deal, but, in its latest news release, Amtrak did not mention what kind of financing the winning bidder would provide.

In a similar development, Union Station in Washington, DC, is getting a $500 million facelift via a new concourse. Amtrak is footing the bill for most of the project, which should be open by 2019 or 2020. The station hosts 37 million travelers each year, and renovations include a new police station, 20,000 square feet of extra space, new seating areas, boarding gates, new restrooms and an Amtrak ClubAcela lounge with a view of the tracks. The project will also include Burnham Place, a mixed-use development with 500 hotel rooms, 1,300 residential units, 1.5 million of commercial office space and retail stores.