(Phil Velasquez/Tribune)

By Blair Kamin | Amtrak has requested proposals from seven architectural and real estate firms to redevelop Union Station’s neo-Classical head house. “We will be looking for some creative, imaginative and transportation-oriented uses of the building,” said Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari.

The firms include the Chicago office of architects Skidmore, Owings & Merrill; Chicago developer U.S. Equities Realty, and the Chicago office of Jones Lang LaSalle, which currently manages Union Station for Amtrak. The request for proposals comes amid a sputtering economy and the prospect of more people using the already-overcrowded station, which serves Metra commuter trains as well as Amtrak’s long-distance and regional routes.

Get the full story: Amtrak asks seven firms to dream up plans for Union Station.