A general picture of the proposed $10 billion overhaul of Washington, D.C. Union Station is bit clearer this week after the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts released renderings of a revised plan from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA).

Earlier in May, the FRA scrapped parts of that plan that included a six-story car park and alternate reconfiguration of the station’s aging bus terminal. That agency has now formally resubmitted its amended proposal, which still calls to add a variety of new features to the historic 115-year-old station, for the Commission's approval. As reported by The Washington Post, the revisions are expected to add to the project's total cost.

Amongst the more significant changes, the planned car park has been moved underground, freeing up public areas around the station’s train hall and Columbus Circle-adjacent park spaces. The changes are meant to improve accessibility and pedestrian connections for the project. In a statement to the Post, development partner Akridge’s SVP David Tuchmann said he felt the revised plan “really nailed it” in terms of timing with the Federal government’s pursuit of the infrastructure improvement projects and investment under the Biden Administration. 

“Everything appears to be aligning now, both for the station project and for Burnham Place,” he added, referencing the plan's retail component.  

The FRA says further investment is still required to ensure the project is completed by the intended 2040 target date. Amtrak and the development corporation which currently leases Union Station from the FRA are important backers as well. The latter recently appointed CUBE 3 Principal Doug Carr, who was influential in SOM's transformation of the former James R. Farley Post office into Moynihan Hall, to take over the project from here out as president and chief executive. Beverley Swaim-Staley, whom Carr replaces, will step down at the end of the summer following a decade overseeing the plan.

In a statement, U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Polly Trottenberg said Carr will "ensure the station best serves the D.C. community while advancing the next century of transportation progress.” 

A delayed environmental review of the project is expected shortly, with a final verdict on the project to follow sometime in the next year.