This week the Port Authority released renderings of a newly struck deal to renovate the George Washington Bridge bus station’s bus facilities and retail spaces. The renovation will increase bus capacity at the station by about 50% as well as quadrupling retail space, according to a Port Authority spokesperson.

Though the GWB station is not currently at capacity, such an expansion will allow capacity needs to be met far into the future. The station currently handles 17,000 passenger trips on 950 buses on an average weekday. According to the New York Times, developers Acadia Realty and PA Associates will pay for the retail portion of the project. The Port Authority will spend about $50 million to improve the bus facilities, and will recoup that investment from a 49-year lease with a minimum rent of $53 million.

The renovation, which would likely begin in 2010, is one piece of what appears to be a comprehensive plan to increase bus capacity at the Port Authority’s facilities. The PA is also planning to expand bus capacity at the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Midtown Manhattan and to create another bus lane at the Lincoln Tunnel approach. A recent NY Times article looked at the excess of buses which idle in the neighborhoods surrounding the PA Bus Terminal, a symptom of the system’s limited capacity.