NEW YORK — Plans to remodel Penn Station will move forward without being tied to a controversial plan to build adjacent high-rise office buildings, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said Monday.
Previously, plans had called for up to $7 billion in funding for the station remodel to come from development of 10 skyscrapers — nine office buildings and a residential tower — in the surrounding neighborhood [see “New York City, state agree on funding plan …,” July 19, 2022].
But demand for those buildings has been questions in light of a considerable drop in office occupancy rates since the pandemic, leading Hochul and other officials to move forward without the skyscrapers.
“We’re not saying that there will never be demand again for office space,” Hochul said, according to a Bloomberg report, “but we have to deal on the realities we’re in and I want to get this done. This is the building I’m focusing on here and now.”
Hochul was speaking at a press conference to announce a “Notice to Proceed” — the official start of the design process. Hochul said that process would “entertain all concepts” for improving the station. The challenge will be to piece together the necessary funding. Hochul said the state has committed $1.3 billion; the New York Times reports Amtrak and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy have also pledged support, the latter in light of the station’s use by NJ Transit. While Amtrak owns the station, the Times reports the passenger operator has agreed to let the Metropolitan Transportation Authority lead the remodeling process.
The MTA has already made some improvements to the station’s maze-like confines, raising ceilings, widening corridors, and building new entrances. Previous plans have called for turning the two-story station into a single-story structure with a massive skylight; Monday’s event included a new set of renderings for how the remodel might look.
MTA CEO Janno Lieber stressed the need to start work on the station during the short window when Penn Station traffic has been decreased somewhat with the shifting earlier this year of some Long Island Rail Road service to Grand Central Madison. Eventually, those trains will be replaced by Metro-North service made possible by the Penn Access project [see “Groundbreaking marks start of work …,” News Wire, Dec. 10, 2022].
“The project will dramatically upgrade passengers’ experience by increasing ceiling heights, bringing in natural daylight, and creating better wayfinding and access to platforms,” Lieber said in a press release. “This Notice to Proceed begins the process in which we will rebuild Penn Station responsibly and — most important — getting going before Metro-North service begins in just a few years.”
