SOM unveils plans for Miami transit hub

As a part of the overarching project All Aboard Florida, Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill has designed a multimodal transit hub for Miami, one of three that will eventually connect Miami to Orlando by train.

The station will serve an estimated 12 million Floridians each year, and is meant to eliminate at least three million car trips each year. 

The main terminal is located about 50 feet above street level. The space below will be full of retail spaces; the elevated terminal will allow for all roadside properties to remain leaseable, according to designboom. 

“This project is a true celebration of the power and potential of transit-oriented development,” Roger Duffy, Design Partner at SOM, said in a press release. “We are excited to continue working with All Aboard Florida to realize this vibrant infrastructural undertaking, unparalleled in its scope, scale, and vision.”

Passenger service is expected to begin in 2016.

Here is SOM's full press release on the project:
In a ceremony today, Miami Mayor Tomás Pedro Regalado, Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez, and All Aboard Florida executives unveiled designs for All Aboard Florida’s new multimodal hub for Miami, planned and designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM). In addition to the Miami hub, SOM is also planning and designing All Aboard Florida’s passenger stations in Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach, which will be unveiled at a later date.

All Aboard Florida is the only privately owned, operated and financed project of its kind being developed in the United States today. All Aboard Florida’s 235-mile network of rail lines will connect South Florida to Orlando by utilizing the current rail infrastructure for the Florida East Coast Corridor between Miami and the Space Coast and creating new tracks into Central Florida. The transformational infrastructure project will provide a vital new service for Florida residents, business people, and visitors and eliminate more than three million car trips from the region’s roadways each year. Passenger service is anticipated to begin in late 2016.

“An estimated 12 million travelers will benefit from the Miami station,” says Michael Reininger, President and Chief Development Officer, All Aboard Florida. “All Aboard Florida provides a fast and convenient transit alternative for this growing demand and need, while integrating transportation infrastructure with mixed use development to serve as a catalyst for transformation and economic vitality in a city that is quickly becoming a model for urban living today.” 

“This project is a true celebration of the power and potential of transit-oriented development,” states Roger Duffy, Design Partner at SOM. “We are excited to continue working with All Aboard Florida to realize this vibrant infrastructural undertaking, unparalleled in its scope, scale, and vision.” Florida?based Zyscovich Architects is serving as the project’s Associate Architect and Planner.

 
renderings courtesy SOM / © SOM

SOM’s three stations will be key portals within All Aboard Florida’s rail system. Envisioned not only as gateways to their respective cities, but also as iconic destinations, the terminals will be filled with spaces to shop, eat, and meet. In downtown Miami, SOM has responded to an extraordinarily challenging and dense site by elevating the railways 50 feet in the air. Retail spaces are vertically layered beneath the soaring tracks and ample use of glass will give the station a shimmering, lightweight quality. This innovative solution allows thru-streets to remain open to traffic and for valuable streetfront real estate to remain leasable. Moreover, this bold architectural gesture creates a landmark terminal—a symbol of a 21st-century Miami.

As pieces of urban infrastructure, the stations are positioned to become centers of gravity for significant urban redevelopment. Economists estimate that All Aboard Florida will pump more than $6 billion into the Florida economy over the next eight years.

“Florida is poised to become the third largest state in the nation due to population growth,” said Kristopher Takacs, SOM Project Manager. “All Aboard Florida responds to this swelling demand by providing a fast and convenient transit alternative to the state’s highways and airport terminals. By integrating this transportation infrastructure with future mixed-use development, the terminals will be the catalysts to transform these cities locally, regionally, and globally.” 

SOM has more than seven decades of experience in planning, designing, and implementing large?scale city-building projects that combine transportation infrastructure with urban mixed-use development. In the past twenty years alone, SOM has completed more than $5 billion dollars worth of transportation construction projects around the world, including complex intermodal and multimodal facilities, subway and rail stations, ferry terminals, the design of entire airports and more than a dozen airport terminals. 

renderings courtesy SOM / © SOM