DC Preservation League Seeks Landmark Status for Amtrak Building
The DC Preservation League is seeking a historic designation for a condemned Amtrak building in NoMa that's tied to the planned expansion of Union Station.
The 113k SF Railway Express building is at 900 Second St NE. Amtrak condemned the building, along with an adjacent lot, this past July in order to retain control over utility easements and to use as a staging area for the improvement project, the Washington Business Journal reports. The company that owns the building alleges that it hasn’t received a clear explanation on the move from Amtrak, which claims that its actions were justified and that it needs control over the building to implement the Union Station master plan.
The two-story building dates back to 1908 and is "an excellent example of early twentieth-century industrial architecture in Washington and of the thoughtful design consideration given to even the utilitarian structures associated with Union Station,” according to the League. The redevelopment of the station itself is just a small part of the transformative $8B redevelopment of Union Station, which will bring millions of SF of office, residential and retail space to the area. [WBJ]
