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Union Station Redevelopment Plan: Development Agreement and Approvals Pending
In October 2008, the Pioneer Valley Transit Authority and the Springfield Redevelopment Authority announced the completion of the Union Station Intermodal Transit Center plan. The publicly sponsored and owned Union Station Intermodal Transportation Center will include:
- 33,000-square-foot PVTA, Amtrak, commuter rail and intercity ticketing and operating facilities.
- 139,000-square-foot bus terminal with 23 bays.
- 400-space, two-level parking garage to accommodate transit and public parking needs.
- 59,000-square-feet of transit-related retail and office space that is available for, Square One providing education and child care support, PVTA administrative offices, a transportation conference center for community meetings, and the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission.
- 35,000-square-feet of commercial “Opportunity” space which includes 5,000-square-feet of Main Street retail space for future economic development.
PVTA's press release said that "The next phase of the plan will be to secure approval from the Federal Transit Administration and the Executive Office of Transportation, followed by the establishment of a joint development agreement between the PVTA and the SRA to oversee construction and operations. "
We called Brian Conners, Interim Chief Development Officer, who is managing the project for the Springfield Office of Planning and Economic Development for an update in March 2009. He said that they are "still moving forward, a little slower than they would like," in part due to some personnel changes in the city and in their legal representation. They have been negotiating the agreement with PVTA about who will be responsible for what and also working on gaining approval from their federal and state partners on the project. Even so, Connors anticipates that they will have the approvals they need and an agreement in place in the "next few months." This will enable the partners to put out a solicitation for a designer to produce the final design.
Now -- how soon can we expect to see that final design?
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