Designed by Kenneth MacKenzie Murchison in 1916, the historic Johnstown, PA train station boasts self-supporting vaults and arches and reflects Johnstown’s stature as a prominent steel center. The station today continues to provide daily serve to Altoona, Harrisburg, Philadelphia and New York to the East and Greensburg and Pittsburgh to the west on the Pennsylvanian. Area leaders are working to increase service to three trains per day.
Urban Partners was retained by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) to conduct a reuse strategy for the station in collaboration with KSK Architects/Historians/Planners. We examined the real estate market conditions to identify viable uses within the station structure and surrounding site. Working with PennDOT and the Johnstown Area Heritage Association (JAHA), we created property reuse concepts that take advantage of the station’s architectural character and the site’s development potential.
Suggested uses include a fresh food multi-vendor farmers’ market, one or two restaurants, a culinary training program for Penn Highlands Community College, and a Greyhound bus passenger/package facility. Before the completion of our study, Greyhound negotiated an agreement with Amtrak to move its former street-side boarding arrangement to the station. JAHA is also negotiating with the community college to implement the culinary program.