(rshsdepot) Denver, CO

["Jim Dent" <james.dent_@_itochu.com>]

-From the Denver Post via Bernie Wagenblast...

RTD buys historic Union Station
Way paved for major hub, development
By Jeffrey Leib, Denver Post Staff Writer,

RTD agreed Thursday to buy Denver's historic Union Station for $ 49.75
million, paving the way for a major transportation hub and widespread
commercial development nearby.

The Regional Transportation District and the station's owners - Union
Pacific
Railroad, land developer Trillium Corp. and Denver real estate investor Pat
Broe - had pegged the price at $ 50.3 million for the 181/2-acre property.

But RTD wanted the price below $ 50 million, so it agreed to forgo rights to
about 20,000 square feet of commercial development on a portion of the site,
said RTD General Manager Cal Marsella.

RTD is not merely buying the rail station, parts of which date back 120
years, but also the rights to high-rise development - office, residential
and
retail - on the surrounding 18 acres.

The district wants to convert Union Station into a transit center for the
metro area where light rail, commuter rail and regional bus service all
intersect.

'We're at a point in our history where we can reclaim a major city
transportation hub,' Marsella said.

The city of Denver is contributing $ 10 million to the station acquisition
and the Denver Regional Council of Governments is funneling $ 20 million in
federal air-quality improvement funds for the purchase.

RTD, Denver, DRCOG and the Colorado Department of Transportation, another
partner in the venture, aim to have consultants create a master plan later
this year for redeveloping Union Station and the surrounding commercial
property.

The Union Station deal should close within 30 days, Marsella said.

In April, RTD plans to open its first light-rail line to the train station,
the 1.8-mile Central Platte Valley rail spur from the Auraria Higher
Education Campus to the LoDo terminal with intermediate stops at the new
Broncos stadium and the Pepsi Center.

RTD is hoping a DIA-to-downtown rail line will terminate at Union Station,
as
would lines from Arvada, Lakewood, Boulder and Adams County.

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