Moynihan Station Deal Alive Again

The on again-off again plan to turn NYC’s historic Farley Post Office into a massive and grand replacement for Penn Station is on again.

After months of negotiations — and years after it first pulled out of the project — Amtrak reached a preliminary agreement to move to an annex of Pennsylvania Station planned for the James A. Farley Post Office Building, state, federal and railroad officials announced on Sunday. The deal, whose specifics have yet to be finalized or released, would clear one of the biggest hurdles facing Moynihan Station, which was first proposed more than 15 years ago and has struggled ever since. Under the agreement, Amtrak agreed to relocate its services to a new train hall in the old post office, something it has been reluctant to do because of costs. The project aims to expand capacity and create an eye-catching new entrance to Penn Station, which is now underneath Madison Square Garden and would be connected to the annex.

The project is forecast to cost about $1.5B. That’s what they say today, anyway.