The Amtrak Consolidated National Operations Center Wilmington, Delaware

50,000 SQ FT, $ 11,000,000

In late 1996, few could imagine that a decaying maritime warehouse on the banks of the Christina River in Wilmington, Delaware, would become the pivotal project in the city’s Riverwalk redevelopment dream. Within 10 months, an old plumbing supply company was transformed into Amtrak’s state-of-the-art Consolidated National Operations Center.

MGZA, as base building architects, worked to gut and renovate 50,000 square feet of building within a limited amount of time and a very constrained budget. Silver metallic horizontal siding was choosen to tie the look of the building to the adjacent Amtrak Northeast Corridor line.

Opened in October of 1997, the building became the locomotive that fueled commercial commitment to the development of the Riverwalk and the Riverfront Park. The Amtrak CNOC building continues to signal the energetic vitality of the Wilmington waterfront.