Ongoing Restoration and Renovation of Union Station

WASHINGTON, DC – For the past three years, Michael Winstanley Architects & Planners (MWAP) has provided consulting services to Union Station Redevelopment Corporation (USRC) and is pleased to provide this update on the work progressing at Union Station.

In-progress today are earthquake related repairs and Near Term Capital Building Program improvements as well as upgrades to the escalator pavilion accessing the parking garage from the train concourse. Repairs and betterments to the historic vaulted plaster ceiling midway through a 30-month phased construction timeline of the main hall are nearing completion.  The current schedule plans for the scaffolding moving from Bay 2 to Bay 3 in the latter part of this summer.   The Near Term Capital Building Program for 2014, including exterior repairs to the East Hall, West Hall, Retail Concourse and East Esplanade will be issued for bid within the next two weeks.   This work will be completed by the end of the year. This bid package represents just the first installment of a budgeted five-year capital construction plan.  In addition, the escalator pavilion work is nearing bid and is scheduled for completion prior to the winter holiday season.

MWAP started working at Union Station in the beginning of 2011, by participating in a full Building and Engineering Assessment Review of the historic train station, designed by Daniel Burnham and constructed in 1907.  The station has been through several transformations, none more radical than the major redevelopment efforts of the mid-1980s when retail shops took over the former Train Concourse. More recently, intercity buses have moved into the connected parking garage, joining Amtrak, MARC and Metrorail to make it a true multi-modal hub and gateway.

As the original building assessment was nearing completion in August of 2011, a rare earthquake hit the Washington region, resulting in damage to the historic, vaulted ceiling in the Main Hall. Protective netting and scaffolding was installed to protect the public while the damage was assessed and a course of action for repair and future sustainment was determined.  In 2013 restoration work began, involving master plasterers, painters and gilders, with design direction by John Bowie Associates, a firm specializing in historic architecture, and supported by the MWAP Team.

The work program is being led by the Union Station Redevelopment Corporation and the resident building management firm, Jones Lang LaSalle.  Their joint leadership and vision has been instrumental in implementing such a complex multi-year assignment.  The entire team of design services consultants includes the following firms and roles:  John Bowie Associates – Historic Preservation Architect; Syska Hennessy Group – Mechanical, Engineering, Plumbing and Fire Consultant; McMullan & Associates – Structural Engineer; LJB, Inc. – Fall Protection Consultant; and Horton Lees Brogden – Lighting Design Consultant (escalator pavilion only).