A new proposal from HOK and Practice for Architecture and Urbanism (PAU) has been unveiled as the competition to design a more modern and accessible update to Penn Station continues just days after New York State Governor Kathy Hochul officially scaled back the project due to economic concerns and pushback from local residents.
The two firms’ split proposal would supposedly be delivered in six years and at a cost of $6 billion using a combination of grants, state, and federal money, in addition to a $1 billion capital investment from ASTM North America.
The plan calls for the addition of a new open-air plaza as well as open-air terraces and two new entrances along Eight Avenue.
HOK’s President Carl Garlioto describes: “The New Penn Station will bring much-needed light into two new train halls, including a grand new Eighth Avenue hall with 55-foot ceilings above the passenger concourse and a glass-wrapped mid-block hall with a sunlit passage between West 31st and 33rd streets. This proposal finally gets rid of a dark, cramped station and creates an inspiring public space worthy of the busiest railway station in North America.”
Passenger circulation will be increased in areas by some 30 percent thanks to the addition of 29 new egress elements while adding natural light and moving a loading dock area off-street to allow for improved safety. The façade of Madison Square Garden will also be recladded in stone in reference to the original design for the neighboring Moynihan Train Hall. The firms say their plan will be fully ADA-compliant and keep the transit hub operational for decades to come.
The proposal joins a previously-announced scheme from ASTM’s Italian counterpart that would more radically alter the site via the addition of a new glass-canopied enclosure and two new all-glass train halls with project contributions also from HOK.
In a statement, ASTM North America Senior Vice President Peter Cipriano said the plan is “more realistic than any previous proposal.”
His colleague, CEO Pat Foye, joined by saying: “We are confident that this is the plan that New Yorkers deserve, not only because of its innovative design but because our public-private partnership model will lower the financial risk for taxpayers and more effectively deliver a modernized Penn Station in its entirety.”
The plan will now be vetted by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and stakeholders despite sustained local resistance. The proposal does not include either an office or housing component.
An additional rendering and drawings from the new proposal can be viewed in the gallery below.
3 Comments
This reminds me of the current existing Penn Station under Madison Square Garden with a a lot more sky lights. Skylights are not some kind of magical solution: after five years this will look the existing dingy Penn Station -- but with dirty skylights.
Its time to bite the bullet, move [and tax!] Madison Square Garden, and rebuild the McKim Mead and White Station.
Nice renderings and a seemingly efficient, simple, restrained, and elegant design. That said, it does evoke the image of the now largely defunct carousel slide projector!
Room for iconic public art at the portals would enhance the design even more.
The original Pennsylvania Station designed by McKim Mead & White should be rebuilt. The original foundation and platforms are already in place. So, those two elements alone can reduce design and construction costs. Some masonry of the original building may be found in the field across the Hudson River in New Jersey.
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