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New York economic development agency Empire State Development Corp. (ESDC) recently awarded a contract to architecture, engineering and consulting firm HDR Inc. to provide development advisory services for a station rehabilitation project.

The $1 billion project would expand the James A. Farley Post Office building, linking it to the Amtrak-owned-and-operated Penn Station across the street. The new Farley-Moynihan Station would include 800,000 square feet of retail/commercial space; 300,000 square feet of rail transportation improvements; and 250,000 square feet for the post office, which is downsizing its operations from 1.4 million square feet, says ESDC spokeswoman Deborah Wetzel.

HDR will help ESDC review work completed to date, analyze markets, identify and evaluate possible development options, and explore alternative financing options.

Expected to open by 2008, the revamped station will increase passenger capacity 30 percent, says Wetzel.

— Angela Claypool