Amtrak has selected Chicago development firm Riverside Investment & Development to lead a more than 3 million-square-foot real estate redevelopment of Union Station and surrounding land in Chicago, according to news sources. The project is expected to take about six years to complete and cost more than $1 billion.
The project will include adding new retail, hotel and office space. The plans include construction of two 12-story residential buildings and development of 1.5 million square feet of new office space in two towers just south of the station. In addition, plans call for the construction of 500,000 square feet of residential space in another high-rise on railroad air rights.
According to the mayor’s office, the project will create about 7,500 construction jobs and 7,000 to 8,000 permanent jobs once the redevelopment is completed.
Officials including Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Amtrak CEO Wick Moorman are scheduled to announce the selection of Riverside Investment & Development as the master developer of the project.
Riverside recently finished a 54-story office tower at 150 N. Riverside Plaza in Chicago and is planning a 51-story tower on the Chicago River next to the Civic Opera House.