Overview

Union Station is the region’s primary transit hub, connecting Southern California counties whose combined population totals more than 17 million. Metro purchased the iconic downtown LA station in 2011.

More than 60,000 travelers and commuters access the station’s transit providers, which include Metro bus and rail lines, Metrolink commuter rail, Amtrak long-distance rail, and numerous municipal carriers and specialty shuttles with connections to downtown Los Angeles. As Measure R funds Metro’s system expansion, Union Station is expected to see upwards of 100,000 boardings per day.

The Union Station Master Plan will develop Metro’s vision and plan to guide future development at the station, including transit operations, enhanced pedestrian access, and new private and/or public real estate development.  

Project Goals

Create a great destination
Building on the significant attributes of Union Station, the Master Plan will shape the city’s premier destination for transit users, residents and visitors. Potential enhancements include creating a public space that is sensitive to the site’s historic and cultural fabric and adjacent neighborhoods. 

Celebrate the site’s history
The Master Plan will celebrate the station and embrace all adjacent neighborhoods’ rich history, providing for development that complements the station’s architecture and heritage to reinforce Union Station’s place in history. 

Provide connectivity to adjacent neighborhoods
One of the Master Plan’s primary goals is to create greater accessibility to Union Station from surrounding neighborhoods. 

Improve the Union Station passenger experience
A program of improvements -- ranging from upgraded signage to expanded services -- will be designed to enhance each passenger’s visit.

Prepare for High Speed Rail
The Master Plan will be flexible to accommodate anticipated future arrival of high speed rail (HSR) serving Union Station. 

Project Schedule

Background

Built in 1939, Union Station combines Dutch Colonial Revival architecture, Mission Revival and Streamline Moderne styles. The architecture team included John and Donald Parkinson who also designed Los Angeles City Hall and city landmarks.

Originally intended as a transcontinental terminus station for the Union Pacific, Santa Fe and Southern Pacific Railways, the station was a major hub for troop movement during World War II.  With the advent of air travel, train service declined at depots across the nation – including Union Station.  The station’s historic 161,000 square foot terminal was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980 and the station was restored in 1992. Beginning in the 1970s, growing use of Amtrak and expansion of local and regional rail revitalized the station as a major transportation hub. 

Union Station Transit Operations Milestones

• Amtrak begins operating four long distance trains from Union Station
  • 1971– Coast Starlight
  • 1971– Southwest Chief
  • 1971– Sunset Limited
  • 1982– Texas Eagle
• 1992 – Metrolink starts operations in Union Station
• 1993 – Metro Red/Purple Line opens
• 1995 – Patsaouras Transit Plaza opens, serving bus operations  
• 2003 – Metro Gold Line begins service
• 2006 – LAX FlyAway begins offering service to Union Station  

Union Station Property Highlights

• Approximately 40-acres, transportation hub (Metro, Metrolink, Amtrak) and urban mixed-use development site.
• Restored historic train station, extensive gardens and courtyards, and a range of dining options.
• Approved for more than 6 million square feet of new development (Alameda District Specific Plan, adopted 1996).
• Adjacent to downtown Los Angeles and El Pueblo, with close proximity to the Los Angeles Civic Center, Chinatown, Little Tokyo, the Arts District and Boyle Heights.
• Headquarters for Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Metrolink and Metropolitan Water District – with 1.1 million square feet of office space.
• Property operations include agreements with the transit agencies, retail leases, filming locations, special events and parking.

Project Updates

Union Station Master Plan Draft Alternatives

At a May 2nd Community Workshop, Metro and the Union Station Master Plan team presented four preliminary draft alternatives, representing a preliminary effort to place various components on the site toward goals set and refined in the data collection and analysis phase of the Master Plan process (more details below). 

• View the May 2 Community Workshop presentation
• View video recording of the May 2 Community Workshop

Metro collected comments on the draft alternatives presented at the meeting and prepared a comment summary.

At the next community workshop, the Union Station Master Plan team will present revised and refined alternatives. This meeting is tentatively planned for August, 2013.

Community Advisory Council Update

The LA Union Station Master Plan hosted its second Community Advisory Council meeting at the Japanese American Community and Cultural Center on April 25, 2013. This meeting provided a review of the Program and a preview of the draft alternatives.  Feedback on the presentation helped the Union Station Master Plan team strengthen and clarify the draft alternative presentation materials for the Community Workshop. 

Planning and Programming Committee Presentation

The Master Plan Team presented findings from the data collection and analysis stage (Task I) of the master planning process, including what was learned from community stakeholders, transit users and operators, in a report to the Metro Board of Directors Planning and Programming Committee on March 20:

• Union Station Master Plan Program Development

Data collection and analysis (Task I) resulted in development of a Program that outlines and prioritizes components to be developed in the Draft Alternatives (Task II). The Program will offer three guiding principles for the Master Plan:

• Transit Optimization: address transit operations, access and circulation through the station, and the passenger experience;
• Destination: address programmatic uses for the site, revitalization of the historic station and sustainable development; and
• Connectivity: address connections and linkages through the site, mobility for pedestrians, bicycles and other modes, and open space.

A presentation further detailing findings and the Program components is here:

• Union Station Master Plan – Task I Briefing

The Draft Alternatives will be the preliminary effort to lay out various Program components on the site, according to goals set and refined during data collection and analysis. We expect to present the preliminary Draft Alternatives at our next Community Workshop on May 2nd.