USRC

Since its inception, the USRC has overseen renovation of Union Station’s historic building as well as expansion of the parking garage. As part of the restoration, USRC was tasked with selecting a development partner that would manage the station’s day-to-day operations, as well as all leasing and rental business. The corporation is also responsible for ensuring that Union Station is primarily used for rail passenger service and other intermodal transportation uses.

With this in mind, USRC has made recommendations for improving the intermodal capabilities of the station and improving its venue as a major tourist attraction and place of interest. Today, Union Station is a great model of how a public-private partnership can work for all parties and truly serve the community.

By 1997, Union Station had become the No. 1 tourist attraction in Washington, D.C. It now ranks either first or second as the city’s most-visited tourist attraction. The Smithsonian’s Air and Space Museum is the only site more frequently visited. To ensure continued success, the USRC developed A Ten Year Master Plan for Union Station 1998. The plan not only assessed needs within the Union Station complex, but also considered community input as essential to its success.
Following were the master plan findings:

Maintain Union Station’s market share by increasing sales to local residents and people who work within the surrounding community
Increase revenues from the parking garage by providing overflow parking and creating partnerships with other transportation service providers, e.g. Greyhound, tour bus companies and taxi companies. Make structural and aesthetic improvements that eliminate leaks and address traffic flow issues for Amtrak passengers
Improve security in the Union Station complex
Strengthen public-private partnerships with the Capitol Hill Business Improvement District
Preserve the legacy of Union Station by conserving an archive of 400 architectural drawings
Address traffic and pedestrian flow issues in and around Columbus Plaza

Union Station Access and Circulation Study completed in 2000 addressed the circulation concerns in more detail. This plan culminated in the current Rehabilitation of Columbus Plaza Project being overseen by the National Park Service, the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) and USRC.

Expansion of the Union Station parking garage began in 2005. Before then, the garage’s 1,388 parking spaces regularly filled up at lunch and patrons were turned away. The garage was expanded to a total of 2,194 parking spaces and it is now able to accommodate demand — even with high lunchtime occupancy.

In 2009 USRC was tasked by Congress to create a Comprehensive Development Plan for the Union Station Complex. This plan includes upgrades to interior spaces to improve customer circulation, exterior upgrades to improve access to different transportation modes, an intercity bus facility located on the Union Station parking garage bus deck and future planned development of the air rights located over the operating rail tracks.

The corporate history (disclaimer: 9mb file, please be patient with the download) report provides an in-depth explanation of the USRC’s formation and its contributions the first few years following Union Station’s rebirth.