The 2012 vision for Union Station. (Courtesy Akridge/SBA)

Grimshaw and Beyer Blinder Belle have been tapped by Washington, D.C.’s Union Station Redevelopment Corporation (USRC) to spearhead a master plan to spruce up the city’s iconic train station. The “Master Development Plan for Union Station’s 2nd Century” builds upon the hugely ambitious, $9 billion development plan that Amtrak and developer Akridge unveiled in 2012. As AN wrote at the time: “The 3-million-square-foot project promises to unite the neighborhoods of Capitol Hill and NoMa, a former industrial area transformed into a leafy residential neighborhood.”

Now, Grimshaw and Beyer Blinder Belle are tasked with making that vision (or something like it) a reality. To do so, the firms will be conducting a comprehensive planning process with public engagement and environmental assessment. They will also draw up conceptual designs to improve the passenger experience and overall functionality at the station.

“The Master Development Plan for Union Station’s 2nd Century will respect and reinforce the station’s historic setting, while also integrating it with surrounding neighborhoods, and the construction of Burnham Place, a three-million-square-feet of mixed-use space, parks, and plazas to be developed over the rail yard,” said the USRC, Amtrak, and Akridge in a statement.

This master plan will actually be the second Union Station master plan that Grimshaw is currently overseeing. Last fall, the firm unveiled a very futuristic vision for Los Angeles’ train station of the same name.