Amtrak and Penn Transformation Partners Sign Pre-Development Deal for New Penn Station

Amtrak and Penn Transformation Partners signed a pre-development agreement for a new Penn Station. The contract is legally binding and sets the path to a final design and detailed budget for the project, which is estimated to cost between $7 billion and $8 billion. The pre-development phase will run through 2027.

During that period Amtrak and the partners will conduct robust community engagement before the final plan is completed. Its transformation effort is led by special advisor Andy Byford, who served as head of New York City Transit from 2018 to 2020.

Penn Transformation Partners is a joint venture led by Halmar, a New York-based heavy construction firm that is part of an Italian conglomerate, and Skanska, the Swedish-based construction and development company. Peter Cipriano is CEO of Penn Transformation Partners.

U.S. Department of Transportation selected Penn Transformation Partners last month. The federal agency invested $243 million to support the project’s early stages and is investing nearly $5 billion into Amtrak’s Northeast Rail Corridor. The plan does not call for Madison Square Garden to be moved.

Architect Vishaan Chakrabarti designed a configuration that situates the Garden as a circle within the square of the new terminal. Penn Station’s main entrance will be moved to Eighth Avenue behind a grand, colonnaded facade. The upper half of the Garden’s round drum will be reclad with limestone fins and protrude upward from the terminal.

Inside, the station’s current ticket counters, waiting areas and corridors will be replaced by a single-level, light-flooded concourse with soaring ceilings, stores, restaurants and customer service facilities. S. ” Byford said, “The momentum continues to transform Penn Station.