Amtrak picks four teams to compete for Philadelphia station project

Amtrak has narrowed its list to four teams that will compete to be selected as master developer for the William H. Gray III 30th Street Station in Philadelphia.

Several firms responded to Amtrak's request for qualifications. The teams that made the cut are:
• Brandywine Realty Trust, which includes Brandywine, Pelli Clarke, Pelli Architects, WSP and CBRE;
• G30 Collaborative, which includes Meridiam, Gensler, Gannett Fleming, Turner Construction, Aramark, MarketPlace and WeWork;
• PHL 30 Vision LLC, which includes JLL, FXCollaborative, AKF, Pennoni, ARUP, Jingoli and JLL; and
• Plenary Infrastructure PHL, which includes Plenary, SOM, Pennoni, Arora, Urban, AKRF, Gilbane Building, Johnson Controls, Vantage and Republic.

From that list, Amtrak will choose a preferred developer for the project. The developer will help introduce new customer amenities to the nearly 100 year-old station, reinvigorate its retail and commercial potential, enhance transit and pedestrian traffic flow and expand the concourses to accommodate anticipated ridership increases, Amtrak officials said in a press release.

"By partnering with the right development team, Amtrak will update this major transportation hub as a world-class gateway for the traveling public and Philadelphia," said Amtrak Senior Program Manager Natalie Shieh.

Amtrak's next step is to request proposals from the teams. Railroad officials expect to choose a master developer in 2019.

Amtrak recently made more than $100 million in capital investments at the William H. Gray III 30th Street Station, including the refurbishment of the building facade, improvements to the public restrooms, replacement of customer elevators and escalators, and restoration of the bronze entrance doors.

The station is the third-busiest in Amtrak's national system, annually serving more than 4 million Amtrak passengers and 8 million rail commuters served by New Jersey Transit and the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority.