Public feedback will play a role in Amtrak’s renovation of the Concourse at Chicago Union Station. Improvements to the boarding process, modernized amenities and new services are among the changes to be designed.
A survey kicks off the design phase of the project. A QR code linking to the survey is on video screens throughout the station. The survey is open through the end of January.
The renovation is the first major enhancement at track level and above since 1991 in a station that serves thousands of Amtrak and Metra customers daily. It is an element of the Chicago Hub Improvement Program, which has been repeatedly endorsed by state, regional and federal leaders.
“The station first opened in 1925 and Amtrak will involve our partners and the general public to develop a preferred design that will take us into the next hundred years,” said Amtrak vice President, Mega Programs Development and Coordination Jeannie Kwon. “The work at Chicago Union Station, our most critical linchpin for travel across the national network, will be performed using federal capital funds along with generous contributions from our partners for both the design and construction elements of the project.”
“We will continue, with our partners at Metra, the city of Chicago, Cook County, the states of Illinois and Michigan, among others, to pursue all viable funding avenues. This includes, but is not limited to, pursuing grant opportunities to help fund the construction to rework the Concourse and deliver a state of the art, first-class station that mirrors the stature of a premier city,” said Amtrak Assistant Vice President for Major Stations Barney Gray.
Leading the design team at the Amtrak-owned station is Chicago-based Epstein, in partnership with FXCollaborative. Amtrak says the partnership combines Epstein’s expertise in managing large, multi-faceted teams on complicated public facilities with New York-based FXCollaborative’s design experience on transportation projects.
Epstein designed the $26.5 million Terminal 5 concessions area in Chicago O’Hare International Airport, Tunnel and Restroom Modernization at O’Hare and Terminal Redevelopment at Chicago Midway International Airport. Epstein has worked on other historic Chicago landmarks, including the underground parking garage, underground lobby, and Pioneer Zephyr exhibit area at Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry, the only surviving major building from the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition.
FXCollaborative designed the recently opened $24 million Amtrak Metropolitan Lounge and Office Complex in the Moynihan Train Hall for the Amtrak-owned New York Penn Station.
Epstein and FXCollaborative frequently collaborate. The two firms most recently completed the major renovation and expansion to the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York.
Epstein is committed to achieving an Amtrak goal of 28.2 percent Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE)/SBE participation. Epstein pledges to commit 15.3 percent of design fees to DBE firms and 12.9 percent to Minority/Women/Veteran/People with Disabilities -owned firms.
“We are proud to partner with Amtrak on this ambitious and challenging project. The importance of Chicago Union Station as part of the regional and local transportation network cannot be overstated,” said Epstein Principal-in-Charge Randy Buescher.
“Strategically renovating the station will transform and shape Chicago Union Station for years to come,” said Stephan Dallendorfer, lead designer for FXCollaborative on project.
Amtrak notes that when the current Concourse design was finished 32 years ago, Amtrak had an annual passenger count of 2.3 million in Chicago. In 2019, that total was 3.3 million, with new routes to and from Chicago in development in Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota, among other Amtrak MidwestSM states. Annual Metra ridership during the same period at Chicago Union Station has grown from 26.6 million to 32.6 million.
The design survey can be found here.
