Providence, Rhode Island-based Gilbane Building Co. broke ground on major renovations for the iconic William H. Gray III 30th Street Station in Philadelphia, Amtrak announced on Jan. 19. Planning for the public-private partnership started in 2016, and Gilbane climbed aboard in 2020.
The $550 million dollar upgrades are the first phase of the broader, $10 billion District Plan, which aims to double the station’s passenger capacity to 25 million passenger trips per year, according to Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, the Chicago-based lead architect on the project. Gilbane is leading design-build services on the job.
“As the design-builder, we’ve worked with our design partner, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), over the last nearly 30 months to thoughtfully develop a design and phased construction approach that will transform the station into a world-class transportation hub while minimizing disruptions to ongoing operations,” said Shawn Carlin, senior vice president and Philadelphia business leader at Gilbane.
Per the release, in this phase of the project, Gilbane and its team will:
- Update and expand station food and retail offerings.
- Improve station operations and enhance the customer experience.
- Upgrade The Porch, the station’s public square, with landscaping and community amenities.
- Modernize Amtrak corporate offices.
- Enhance building infrastructure to achieve and maintain a state of good repair.
The William H. Gray III 30th Street Station first opened in 1933, and is the main railroad station in Philadelphia. It’s a major stop on Amtrak’s Northeast and Keystone Corridors, and is one of the busiest intercity passenger railroad facilities in the U.S.
Amtrak expects that train operations will continue as normal. Elevator and escalator work will begin in January 2024, and additional construction phases will continue through 2027, according to the release.