6 replies to this topic

[KevinKorell]

Delaware Business Now, 5/18/20:

 

   Amtrak buys Renaissance Center in downtown Wilmington  

 

 

Amtrak has purchased the Renaissance Center in downtown Wilmington, with plans to accommodate 200 employees in the building.

 

Story

[CNJRoss]

The News Journal, Wilmington, DE 5/21/20
 

Amtrak purchases office tower in Wilmington, boosting its already large Delaware presence

 

 

Delaware's economy grew more intertwined with Amtrak this month after the government-owned rail company purchased an eight-story Wilmington office building it plans to fill with 200 employees, according to a statement from the broker of the sale.  

 

Already more dependent on Delaware than other states, the company maintains two maintenance shops in New Castle County, where in recent years it has employed 470 people. The rail company also runs administrative operations out of the state, employing hundreds more along the Wilmington Riverfront and elsewhere. 

 

Its purchase of the Renaissance Centre on King Street from The Commonwealth Group buttresses the city's long struggling central business district during a time of extreme economic uncertainty. Other tenants in the building include the Delaware Supreme Court and the Delaware State Bar Association.

 

Amtrak in May purchased a WIlmington office building, increasing its presence in Delaware. 

(Photo: provided)

 

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[KevinKorell]

New York, NY Post, 5/13/22:

 

 

    Amtrak wasted millions on botched Delaware relocation plan, watchdog says  

 

 

Amtrak shelled out tens of millions of dollars on a bungled scheme to relocate hundreds of workers to a building it bought for $41 million in Joe Biden’s hometown of Wilmington, Del., the rail company’s official watchdog said in a report Friday.

 

News story

[KevinKorell]

Railway Age, 5/16/22:

 

 

    OIG to Amtrak: Update (and Verify) Unified Operations Center Business Case  

 

 

Amtrak’s plans to save costs and consolidate personnel/functions in a Delaware building it purchased for $41.1 million in May 2020 “have not materialized because it didn’t effectively verify the feasibility of its plan before it made the purchase,” according to a new report from the Amtrak Office of Inspector General (OIG).

 

More

[KevinKorell]

Fox News, 5/28/22:

 

 

     Amtrak watchdog says $41 million purchase of Delaware building based on ‘faulty assumptions’    

 

 

Amtrak’s purchase of a building in Wilmington, Delaware for a massive $41 million was based on "significant yet faulty assumptions," according to the agency’s internal watchdog which criticized the purchase in a report.

 

 

Still more

[CNJRoss]

Amtrak news release

April 4, 2024

 

Amtrak Selects Construction Contractor for Wilmington Unified Operations Center

 

$53 Million investment in Wilmington to improve operations processes and resiliency

 

 WILMINGTON, Del. – Amtrak recently selected locally-based Wohlsen Construction Company as the awardee for the Unified Operations Center (UOC) Facility Project in Wilmington, Del. The award follows a competitive procurement that began in August 2023.

 

“One of our primary goals for the Renaissance Centre building is to create a new Amtrak Unified Operations Center to serve our nationwide rail network, which will drive enhanced reliability, efficiency, safety and customer service,” said Amtrak Executive Vice President, Service Delivery & Operations Gery Williams. “The new UOC is part of Amtrak’s transformation from legacy systems and practices to a modern, sustainable control center capable of supporting Amtrak’s long-term strategy to double ridership by 2040.”

 

Wohlsen Construction Company will partner with Amtrak to advance the build-out and construct workspaces, conference rooms, the operations center, the Tier-3 data center, video wall systems, mechanical and electrical system upgrades and building-wide improvements at the Renaissance Centre.

 

The investment for the UOC is estimated at more than $53 million to build an integrated 24/7 operations center to monitor and manage national operations and dispatch the mid-Atlantic Division, which encompasses all train movements in the Washington-Philadelphia-Harrisburg corridor. Additionally, the UOC will house the national operations control center, which manages Amtrak’s fleet and onboard crew assignments and coordinates the company’s response to service disruptions. A new Tier-3 data center will also be created at this facility to support Amtrak’s operations to ensure system resiliency.

 

Amtrak’s acquisition of the 164,789 square foot Renaissance Centre in downtown Wilmington, Del., fulfills an important facility need that will improve Amtrak operations and resiliency. The current location of Amtrak’s mission-critical Consolidated National Operating Center and Wilmington Dispatching Office for the Southeast Division, next to the flood-prone Christina River. The evolution of climate change and several flooding incidents have only served to reinforce the urgency and necessity of relocation to protect these vital assets.

 

The new UOC is being designed to fundamentally change and improve the way Amtrak operations employees work by facilitating:

• Faster detection and responsiveness to operating events
• More effective customer communications during service disruptions
• More efficient fleet and crew utilization
• Improved rail traffic movement

 

Digital technology services are an integral part of creating the future of Amtrak. To support the growth of our services, Amtrak will continue to optimize and modernize how integrated technology services are designed and deployed into new facilities like the UOC.

 

Amtrak also plans to consolidate other functions into the building including relocations of the Amtrak Police Department’s National Communications Center, the Amtrak Test Kitchen with associated offices, and moving Digital Technology personnel from temporary office space at the Wilmington Station.

 

The new Amtrak UOC is expected to be completed in 2027.

 

 

[CNJRoss]

Trains News Wire 

 

Amtrak chooses contractor for United Operations Center in Wilmington

 

By Trains Staff | April 6, 2024

 

Project including national operations facilities, dispatching center for part of Northeast Corridor to be completed in 2027

 

WILMINGTON, Del. — Wohlsen Construction Co. has been awarded the contract for Amtrak’s United Operations Center project in Wilmington, Del., the company announced on Friday.

 

The project, expected to cost more than $53 million, will built a 24-hour operations center for national operations, including fleet and onboard crew assignments and coordination of the response to service disruptions. A data center will also support system resiliency. The facility will also include the dispatching center for  Amtrak’s Mid-Atlantic Division, which oversees all train movements in the Washington-Philadelphia-Harrisburg corridor.

 

 

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