New York Governor Kathy Hochul is scrapping a plan to build new office space near Penn Station and instead focusing — for now — on renovating the much-maligned and busiest US passenger rail facility.
(Bloomberg) — New York Governor Kathy Hochul is scrapping a plan to build new office space near Penn Station and instead focusing — for now — on renovating the much-maligned and busiest US passenger rail facility.
Prior rehabilitation plans included developing high-rise office buildings in the neighborhood that could help finance revamping Penn Station at an estimated cost of $7 billion.
A drop in demand for office space helped persuade the governor to prioritize upgrading the station, a cramped, warren-like facility that serves as a hub for the Long Island Rail Road and New Jersey Transit. Amtrak uses the connecting Moynihan Train Hall, a new terminal that opened in 2021.
“We’re not saying that there will never be demand again for office space, but we have to deal on the realities we’re in and I want to get this done,” Hochul told reporters Monday at Penn Station to announce that the state is accepting design proposals. “This is the building I’m focusing on in the here and now.”
Commuters have long complained about the venue’s narrow corridors, low ceilings and relative lack of escalators. The station also serves six subway lines.
NY MTA Puts $2 Billion Price Tag on Proposed Penn Station Entry
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which operates the city’s subways, buses and commuter lines, has already rehabbed parts of Penn Station by raising ceilings and building new entrances.
“This area is great, but we’d like to turn it into an area under the governor’s leadership that is the size of Moynihan Train Hall plus Grand Central Station combined,” Janno Lieber, the MTA’s chief executive officer, said during Monday’s press event with Hochul. “That’s an amazing transformation.”
How the project will be paid for still needs to be worked out. Hochul on Monday said the state has committed $1.3 billion and will be looking for federal funds to help finance the renovation.
“We’re putting skin in the game,” Hochul said. “We’re making a major investment and we’re looking for other sources. But, we’re going to get this started and we’re going to get it done.”
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