Amtrak $7 billion renovation project for DC’s Union Station
Today Amtrak announced a $7 billion project for a major renovation to DC’s Union Station with the goal of tripling the passenger capacity of the busy rail station in the heart of the nation’s capital. A central part of the announcement is Burnham Place, the large mixed use real estate project set to begin over the tracks behind the station being led by Akridge, a leading DC developer.
Burnham Place is envisioned as a major commercial, retail, and residential hub for the entire DC metropoliten area. Early projections for the project include 1.5 million square feet of office space, more than 1,300 residential units, 500 hotel rooms, and 100,000 square feet of retail space.
“This is one of the nation’s great projects to lead a full buildout of high speed rail across America as shown in our national HSR map. This will be the beginning of a new real estate development boom across the country centered around rail systems.” said U.S. High Speed Rail Association’s Andy Kunz.
Tags: Amtrak, High Speed Rail
The Ten Toe Express program links walking with public transit use resulting in a healthier, more active lifestyle. 
All this does is irritate me. $7 billion for a Union Station redevelopment and our Union Station remains dead? Where is the leadership? Why did they build that ugly Amtrak station under a highway underpass in downtown St. Louis, when we have a beautiful Union Station ourselves?
It boggles the mind why we abandoned the transportation hub potential of the old Union Station in St. Louis and instead built a gold fish pond and a Hard Rock Cafe where trains and metro link and buses could converge and then a few blocks east contructed perhaps the ugliest, cheapest not to mention confusing access – The decision to not re-develop Union Station as a multi modal center with hotel accomodations – well we all know we are now paying the price for short-sightedness. Whatever the excuse – it is indefensible.