ConDig (16-Jun-17).  Developer and contractor Skanska has secured a $1.26 billion contract to revamp the historic James A. Farley Post Office building in New York City.

Under the design and build deal with Empire State Development Corporation (ESD) and developers Related Companies and Vornado Realty Trust, the project will include the construction of the new 255,000-square-foot Moynihan Train Hall, which is a conversion of the original, century-old U.S. Postal Service mail sorting room.

Featuring a new glass canopy roof, as well as elevator and escalator access to all platforms serving the Long Island Rail Road and Amtrak rail services, the Train Hall also aims to improve access for Penn Station’s 650,000 estimated daily rail customers, Skanska said.

The overall Farley Building revamp includes 1.3 million square feet of transit, retail and commercial office space and covers all new structural, architectural, mechanical, electrical and plumbing improvements.

It also includes demolition of existing structural and architectural elements, along with asbestos and lead abatement. Historic restoration of the entire exterior of the building and the adjacent Annex Building is also included.

Work is underway and a completion date is slated for December 2020.

The project is the second phase of Skanska’s ongoing efforts for ESD and the State of New York to unite the Farley Building with the adjacent Penn Station and create Penn-Farley – an up-to-date rail transportation hub.

In June, Skanska completed the first major phase in efforts to create a unified Penn-Farley complex with the expansion and renovation of Pennsylvania Station’s West End Concourse – which runs from 33rd Street to 31st Street under Manhattan’s 8th Avenue.

Skanska has bagged a number of large contracts in recent weeks after announcing a $113 million deal to build a recreation center at Boston College in Massachusetts and a $49 million contract to revamp the east end of Las Olas Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.