CHICAGO — A murderers' row of Chicago developers are on deck to redevelop Union Station, a job that's expected to take several years and more than $1 billion.
Amtrak on Monday released its short list of four developers vying to redevelop the Downtown train station, 225 S. Canal St.
The list includes some of the best-known names in Chicago real estate: a team including Golub & Co. and Walsh Construction; another with the John Buck Co., star architect Jeanne Gang and brokerage Jones Lang LaSalle; John O'Donnell and Clark Construction; and McHugh Construction and Sterling Bay, the latter of which proposed a 950-foot-tall tower next to the station last week.
“The firms selected to advance to the next phase of the process represent some of the best developers in the business, complete with the financial capacity to dream big for Amtrak and the city of Chicago," Bart Bush, a vice president at Amtrak, said in a statement.
The project would cover a 14-acre site including up to 3 million square feet of air rights. Amtrak, which owns Union Station, opened bids for the massive redevelopment project last year.
Union Station opened a new bus depot late last month, and has also replaced the storied marble stairs in its Great Hall. Additional improvements include extending the Downtown Pedway from the Blue Line to Union Station.
Golub is a former owner of John Hancock Center that is building the Moment apartment tower in Streeterville and luxury town homes in the South Loop, among other projects. John Buck's recent projects include the Virgin Hotel, while O'Donnell is building a new 53-story office tower at 150 N. Riverside Plaza.
Sterling Bay developed Google's new Chicago office and is also building McDonald's new corporate headquarters on the former Harpo Studios site.
Amtrak declined to release specifics or renderings of the four final bids. The winning developer will be selected this winter, said Marc Magliari, an Amtrak spokesman.
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