#dlddevtour

More from our Burnham Place Tour: Burnham Place is a transformative 3-million square-foot mixed use development that will create a new urban neighborhood atop the rail yards north of Union Station. Named after Union Station’s architect, Daniel Burnham, the project will be executed in concert with Amtrak and the Union Station Redevelopment Corporation (USRC). These organizations plan to triple the capacity of the station through a 15 to 20 year expansion project.

More from our Burnham Place Tour: The station expansion and Burnham Place (collectively called the “Union Station 2nd Century Project”) will fill an existing hole in the urban fabric of the city. The project joins together the city’s central business district, Capitol Hill, and the emerging NoMa and H Street, NE neighborhoods with each other and the region. Burnham Place will include first-class office, residential, hotel and retail uses, and over five acres of parks, plazas and open space.

Burnham Place Tour Stop 1: View from Columbus Plaza. The historic aesthetics of the entrance won't change. The design goal is to have a minimal impact on the view of Union Station from the south. New building heights will increase going north in order to preserve the entrance as a focal point.

Burnham Place Tour Stop 2: A greenway, similar to New York's High Line, will weave the area together vertically along First Street NE.

Burnham Place Tour Stop 3: Though the existing tracks will be improved and expanded, the elevation of the tracks won’t change. A deck over the trains will be built to create the plaza, with interstitial parking below. The historic green control tower (shown in the very center of the bottom photo) will be repurposed as a restaurant.

Burnham Place Tour Stop 4: The existing parking garage will be demolished, and new parking will be built below grade. Overall there will be 10 buildings above grade, with the intent of creating a true neighborhood where people come and stay, not just pass through.

Burnham Place Tour Stop 5: Improvements to Concourse A will include a new glazed roof, skylights, and mezzanine bridges. An immediate project will be decreasing the size of the mechanical and electrical bulkhead (directly under where this photo was taken) to raise the ceiling height at the gate below.

Burnham Place Tour Stop 6: The revitalized Central Concourse will feature retail, lounge and waiting areas, and direct views to train platforms. A design goal is to have entrances from 1st and 2nd Streets.