Feds Pick Developer To Lead Penn Station Renovation

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Amtrak on May 20 named Penn Transformation Partners as the master developer for the renovation of Penn Station in Manhattan, advancing a project the federal government took over from New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority last year. The selected team is led by Halmar and Skanska, according to the Department of Transportation and Amtrak. USDOT said it is investing an additional $200 million and still aims to begin construction in 2027. New York Penn Station remains the busiest train station complex in the Western Hemisphere, and Amtrak said it handled more than 12 million Amtrak passengers in fiscal 2024. The federal plan calls for a new train hall entrance on Eighth Avenue, rebuilt concourses, upgraded retail and wayfinding, and work on the station’s underlying structure. Officials also said the redesign would keep Madison Square Garden in place and reclad it with a more classical exterior. (transportation.gov) ### Who exactly did the federal government pick? Penn Transformation Partners is the private master developer team selected by Amtrak’s board and USDOT to lead the station overhaul. The federal announcement identified Halmar and Skanska as the team’s core partners. Gothamist reported that Vornado Realty Trust, a major landowner around Penn Station, is also part of the group. (transportation.gov) Andy Byford, the special adviser appointed to oversee the project for the Amtrak board, said the procurement process had moved quickly and that the project was closer to “shovels in the ground next year.” Duffy said the government took over because the project had been “behind schedule, over budget, and hopelessly mismanaged.” (transportation.gov) ### Why is Amtrak running this instead of the MTA? April 2025 was the turning point for project control. Amtrak and USDOT took over the Penn Station overhaul from the MTA, and USDOT withdrew $72 million in grant funding that had been allocated to the state agency, according to Amtrak and the Transportation Department. (transportation.gov) March 2026 brought another step in that shift. Amtrak said an AECOM-led joint venture with LiRo-Hill had been chosen for project management services, while NJ Transit joined as a key partner and early work started on environmental review and a Federal Railroad Administration service optimization study. (media.amtrak.com) ### What is the federal plan for the station itself? The May 20 federal announcement described a rebuilt station with a grand Eighth Avenue entrance, more open concourses and at least limited through-running for regional rail. Through-running would allow some NJ Transit and Long Island Rail Road trains to continue through Penn Station instead of terminating and reversing there. (media.amtrak.com) Gothamist reported that the plan would remove the Theater at Madison Square Garden to create a glassy Eighth Avenue entrance and raise interior ceiling heights by opening up levels inside the train hall. Amtrak said the design takes inspiration from the original Penn Station while fitting the existing site constraints. ### What changed for Madison Square Garden and the surrounding real estate fight? (transportation.gov) Madison Square Garden is no longer being treated as a structure that must move for the current station rebuild. The federal plan keeps the arena above the station and instead proposes new exterior cladding, a decision that departs from earlier civic and design proposals that contemplated relocating the arena. (gothamist.com) New York State’s broader Penn Station area plan had tied station improvements to surrounding redevelopment and new towers intended to help generate revenue for transit work. Empire State Development documents say that land-use project is related to Penn Station improvements but is independent from the station reconstruction itself. Patch reported in 2023 that Governor Kathy Hochul had already moved to decouple the station redesign from the larger office-tower plan. (transportation.gov) ### What happens next, and when? Summer 2026 is the next key phase. Amtrak said preliminary design and National Environmental Policy Act work are scheduled to run from summer 2026 through the end of 2027, alongside continued procurement and planning. The end of 2027 remains the target for construction to start. (esd.ny.gov) USDOT, Amtrak, project manager AECOM-LiRo, and master developer Penn Transformation Partners are the named participants now responsible for moving the project from concept drawings to a station buildout in Midtown Manhattan. (transportation.gov) (media.amtrak.com)