Passenger Trains > Amtrak plans (Chicago) Union Station makeover

Amtrak plans Union Station makeover
Chicago Tribune
by Jon Hilkevitch

July 29, 2015

> Plans are in the works to renovate and restore the interior and
> exterior of (Chicago) Union Station.

> Amtrak is betting millions of dollars to transform Union Station into
> an entertainment and tourist destination, complete with restaurants
> and outdoor cafes, retail, a hotel and even a grocery store...
>
> Amtrak wants to open up thousands of square feet of space long closed
> to the public, literally throwing open the doors to the 90-year-old
> building in a bid to return the landmark station to its heyday in the
> 1940s and '50s.
>
> Hidden deep inside Union Station are palatial rooms with 33-foot-high
> ceilings and assorted alcoves that have been mothballed for decades.
> During the golden age of passenger rail, those spaces were filled
> with ritzy restaurants, coffee shops (including the fabled Harvey
> House), a dance hall, tailoring shops specializing in custom suits,
> law offices and more.
>
> The goal is to transform Union Station into a traveler and visitor's
> venue that tops the highly successful retail and food and beverage
> offerings at Union Station in Washington, D.C., as well as at highly
> touted rail depots in Seattle and Denver, said Paul Sanders, Amtrak
> senior manager of facilities management at Chicago's Union Station.
> To that end, the national passenger railroad is soliciting proposals
> from investors and businesses to bid on up to 25,000 square feet of
> potentially stunning retail rental spaces, according to Amtrak, which
> owns the building.
>
> The station is by its very nature serving Amtrak and Metra trains a
> destination. But with a tired food court and little retail, it
> represents a missed business opportunity for the cash-strapped
> agency. More than 50,000 people pass through the rail station, the
> nation's third-busiest, on an average weekday, according to official
> counts.
>
> "We are last (to redevelop) when it comes to all the major
> transportation hubs, but you get to learn from everybody's successes
> and unfortunate missteps," Sanders said last week while taking your
> Getting Around reporter on a behind-the-scenes tour of the spaces
> that Amtrak hopes to rent out.
>
> Behind locked doors is the former Women's Waiting Room, adorned with
> murals dating to the station's opening in 1925, a period when female
> passengers would take refuge from the rough-and-tumble of traveling
> alone and freshen up during a stopover in Chicago by using pay
> showers.
>
> Other hidden spaces, tucked behind the station's marble walls and
> ornamental iron bars that cover part of the building's facade,
> collect dust. Some of Union Station's doors fronting Canal Street,
> potential portals to outdoor cafes, haven't been cracked open in
> years, officials said.
>
> Sanders said a well-known high-end grocery chain has expressed
> interest in opening a food emporium at Union Station. Sanders also
> said he envisions a hotel on the station's second floor, with the
> hotel entrance and marquee on Adams Street between Canal and Clinton
> streets. He's already dreaming about reinstalling canopies that once
> gracefully draped the entrances to Union Station, he said.
>
> Amtrak's first step in its bid to generate new revenue is the debut
> of the Legacy Club, a room patterned after airline frequent-flier
> lounges. The Legacy Club is open for business, located in a room
> formerly called the Union Gallery, just off the southwest corner of
> the Great Hall. For a $10 daily fee, passengers can relax in
> comfortable new furniture, enjoy complimentary nonalcoholic drinks
> and access Wi-Fi. Amtrak coach passengers also receive priority
> boarding. A Legacy Club membership plan, designed for frequent users,
> is being developed, Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said...

Full story:

Amtrak plans Union Station makeover

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It's about time. The grocery store will be good. Passengers can stock up so they don't go hungry when Amtrak runs out of food or the diner craps out altogether. More seriously, having a nice sit down restaurant would be great to avoid going out looking for something particularly if connection time is limited.

Or simply stock up and not have to buy the over-priced, high-carb, high sodium garbage from the snack cars. 
Be nice to have a sit down , NY style diner/luncheonette too, or think of it as neo-Fred Harvey.

Now if we could just do something about the Gate Dragons and otherwise stop treating passengers like they are 4th graders on a class trip with a bunch of cranky chaperones. Until then, this is something to take advantage of:

For a $10 daily fee...Amtrak coach passengers also receive priority boarding..



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 06/29/15 16:19 by joemvcnj.