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Project Profile:Moynihan Train Hall
photo credit: Empire State Development Corporation
Project Sponsor / Borrower
Empire State Development Corporation (ESD)
Fiscal Year Approved
Fiscal Year 2017 and Refinanced in Fiscal Year 2022
Intermodal - Transit/Multimodal Development
The Moynihan Train Hall is part of the first stage of the Gateway Program, a comprehensive set of rail infrastructure improvements between New Jersey and New York, that will transform the James A. Farley Post Office Building into a modern, state of the art transportation facility. It is expected to relieve congestion at Penn Station, the busiest passenger transportation facility in the U.S. with more than 650,000 passengers on weekdays, and improve the experience of passengers from Amtrak, Long Island Rail Road, New Jersey Transit, and Metro-North Railroad. The project is being undertaken in two phases:
Phase 1: West End Concourse Improvement includes the construction of: a) an expanded passenger concourse beneath the Farley Building including new vertical access points serving platform numbers three to eleven, b) an underground connection to the Eighth Avenue subway line, c) an underground connection to the existing Penn Station, and d) plazas at street level. This phase of work is substantially complete and opened to the public in June 2017.
Phase 2: Moynihan Train Hall involves creating: a) a new sky-lit train hall on the concourse level of the Farley Building, b) back-of-house support space for Amtrak and Long Island Rail Road, the two anchor rail tenants, including ticketing, baggage areas and waiting areas, c) loading access for the rail tenants and for the United States Postal Service which will continue to occupy space in the Farley Building, d) exterior restoration, and e) systems and infrastructure improvements.
The new train hall covers 255,000 square feet with a 92-foot-tall skylight and provides access to nine platforms and 17 tracks via eleven escalators and seven elevators. The project is being developed by a joint venture between The Related Companies L.P. and Vornado Realty Trust. The developer will operate and lease the commercial portion of the project. This will include 120,000 square feet of retail space and 730,000 square feet of office space targeting creative class tenants with 32- by 40-foot column spacing and ceiling heights over 17 feet. The train hall opened to the public in January 2021.
$1.916 billion (TIFIA- eligible project costs)
Phase 2 Funding Sources:
TIFIA Loan - $606.7 million
ESD contribution - $ 550.4 million
Developer payment - $230.5 million
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey capital contribution - $150.0 million
Amtrak capital contribution - $ 133.7 million
Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) capital contribution - $ 65.5 million
Other - $ 76.8 million
Project Delivery / Contract Method
99-year lease to a private developer who is constructing the facility through a design-build contract
Private Partner
Project Advisors / Consultants
Architect - Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM)
To Empire State Development
Financial Advisors - Ernst & Young , LLP
Legal Advisors (Financing) - Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP
Legal Advisor (Real Estate) - Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
To USDOT Build America Bureau
Financial Advisor - Scully Capital Services, Inc.
Legal Advisor - Shearman & Sterling, LLP
Insurance Advisor - Moore McNeil, LLC
Real Estate Advisor - Newmark Grubb Knight Frank
USDOT TIFIA
Duration / Status
Construction on the train hall (phase 2) began in August 2017.
Substantial completion was achieved in December 2020, and the train hall opened to the public in January 2021.
TIFIA Credit Assistance
Direct loan: $606.7 million
The FY 2022 refinancing of the TIFIA loan added up to $80.5 million to the loan that closed in 2017, for a new total of up to $606.7 million. The additional loan capacity will ensure completion of security and passenger safety initiatives.
The TIFIA loan is secured by Payments In Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) generated by the commercial development within the building. The TIFIA loan also benefits from a debt service backstop from the MTA until the commercial development reaches stabilization, as well as a mortgage over the Farley Building.
Financial Status
The initial TIFIA credit agreement was signed in July 2017 . The loan was refinanced in November 2021 with a lower interest rate and a higher principal of $606.7 million. The refinance modified the maturity to 35 years from fall 2021.
As part of New York's mission to transform its construction projects using new materials, it plans on removing 6,000 tons of concrete and 800 tons of steel, as well as 400 tons of hazardous materials for the Moynihan project.
Related Links / Articles
ESD Project Website
Amtrak Project Website
SOM Project Website
Joint Solicitation for the Development of the Empire Station Complex
President, Moynihan Station Development Corporation
michael.evans@esd.ny.gov
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