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Train shed looking southwest Amtrak

Train shed looking southwest Amtrak
$7 Billion Union Station Master plan Released
Posted by Amanda Wilson on 7/28/2012 07:17:00 AM
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Interior view of the new train shed
Amtrak released details this week of a much-talked-about $7 billion plan for Union Station's tracks, platforms, concourses, and parking that will dramatically overhaul the space. Under the Union Station Redeveloment Corporation, Union Station is already undergoing a renovation of its Grand Hall.
In a move officials acknowledged was belated, they said the plan would help the nation's capital catch up with other parts of the world with high-speed rail service. The plan, they said, would eventually triple the station's passenger capacity and double the train service over the next 20 years. The plan goes hand in hand with plans for a 1.5 billion dollar project by Akridge development, Amtrak's private partner in the project, to develop the air rights over the train tracks into a $1.5 billion mixed-use project called Burnham Place.
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Greenway looking north along First St.
Amtrak and Akridge, Amtrak's private partner on the project, released the master plan this week in a press conference attended by city glitterati, including embattled mayor Vincent Gray.
Burhnam Place, named after Union Station's original architect Daniel Burnham, is part of Amtrak's master plan, and will be developed by Akridge and architectural firm Shalom Baranes. Developers plan, over the next 15 years, to build a 3-million square-foot mixed use development over the train tracks.
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Historic control tower into restaurant, Courtesy: Akridge
The plan envisions 500 hotel rooms, 100,000 square feet of retail, and 1,300 residential units built on a concrete platform over the tracks and supported columns placed throughout the rail yard. Akridge went through years of technical negotiations with Amtrak before deciding on a construction plan, and the Smart Growth Alliance and Urban Land Institute (ULI) have both voiced support for the project.
Developers emphasize that the project will feature elements that enhance public space and amenities. One such feature includes a 1.5 mile elevated greenway with a bike lane along the west side of the station that will link the NoMa neighborhoods with Union Station and the Metro and connect to the Metropolitan Branch Trail.
Plans also call for a "grand plaza" fronting both sides of H Street that will lead into a brand new Train Hall in what developers say will be "a grand northern entrance to Union Station."
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Plan overview. Image Courtesy of Akridge.
Blue represents office space,
Beige is residential,
Green / yellow is naturally lit space, and
Brown is hotel space.
Red circles are vertical connections,
Red arrows are station entrances.