When the Trump Administration took over delivery of the Penn Station redevelopment project last April, it promised to move forward with a procurement quickly for the long-delayed megaproject. It appears to be doing just that. Amtrak has already shortlisted three potential master developer teams and started the RFP process. Amtrak executive Andy Byford, who is leading the procurement, also stated that he plans to recommend a master developer to the Amtrak board in May. That is pretty fast procurement timeline for a megaproject of the scale envisioned for Penn Station, even if it is largely qualifications-based.
The RFP for the ongoing procurement is not yet public, but the eventual master developer team will likely spend a considerable amount of time to complete designs and permitting before final pricing or construction can get underway. Byford has announced that Amtrak is aiming to get construction underway by the end of 2027. Typically, a procurement for a master developer this early in the predevelopment process tends to be largely based on qualifications, but at least two of the shortlisted developer teams for Penn Station have proposed specific plans for the project. Those competing designs are centered on what to do about Madison Square Garden – a question that has overshadowed the Penn Station redevelopment project ever since it was first considered back in the 1980’s.
The three shortlisted teams for the procurement are:
Grand Penn Partners, which is led by Macquarie. Additional team members include F+P Architects New York, Suffolk Construction Company, Mott MacDonald, Cushman and Wakefield, Buro Happold Consulting Engineers, Mueser Rutledge Consulting Engineers, and Vantage Airport Group.
Penn Forward Now, which is led by Fengate. Additional team members include Ullico, Tutor Perini, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, Grimshaw Architects, Parsons, Arup, CBRE, Goldman Sachs and National Bank Capital Markets.
Penn Transformation Partners, which is led by Halmar. Additional team members include Skanska, ASTM, HNTB, HOK, Vornado Realty, Severud Associates Consulting Engineers, M-E/Vogel Taylor Engineers, Network Rail Consulting, Langan Engineering, City ID, Billings Jackson Studio and Morgan Stanley.
