(rshsdepot) Denver, CO

[Bernie Wagenblast <brwagenblast_@_comcast.net>]

read online at:
http://denver.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2002/03/18/story3.html

Train station ready to take on bigger role

Erin Johansen and Cathy Proctor   Denver Business Journal

Denver Union Station, the once-bustling railway station where 80 trains a
day passed through carrying thousands of travelers, is on the verge of a new
life as the hub of a metro- and region-wide transportation network.

The new owners of the station last week were wrapping up negotiations with a
team led by real estate company Jones Lang LaSalle to spend two years
creating a master plan for the old station and surrounding 18.5 acres of
land.
A committee was expected to recommend the team to the Regional
Transportation District's board of directors on March 13. The board is
slated to vote on the contract March 19.
RTD, the city, the state transportation department and the Denver Regional
Council of Governments banded together last year to buy the old station for
$49.7 million from three private owners.
The vision for the station itself and the land surrounding it includes light
rail trains, heavy commuter rail trains, Amtrak, local and regional buses,
the mall shuttle and bike and taxi cab zones. But developers also are eyeing
the adjacent property for hotel, office and retail projects.

"The question we have to ask is what do we do with it?" said Cal Marsella,
RTD's general manager. "Transportation needs will drive the development, but
what do you do with the rest of the land?"
The master planning process should help answer that question -- along with
where and when the pieces should be built.
The team that nets the master planning project has two years to talk to many
people about the station's future, including surrounding neighborhoods, the
city, RTD, downtown and area businesses, and the railway freight companies
whose tracks are west of the station. The team also will look at
environmental issues in the old industrial area and work with the city on
zoning issues.
"Do this right, bring this back and we'll have brought life back to the
Central Platte Valley," said Jennifer Moulton, director of planning and
development for the city of Denver.
"It will solidify downtown, make a front door to Denver," she said.
Marsella said the master plan must have three elements: that the station
meets transportation needs; that development possibilities be optimized; and
that there is a coherent business development plan.
The team negotiating last week for the master planning effort included many
international, national and local players who have experience on similar
projects in Denver and nationwide.

WHO THE PLAYERS ARE
Here's a rundown of the major and minor players included on the Union
Station team in negotiations:
Jones Lang LaSalle, a company that brings years of real estate experience
ranging from the management of large development projects to the sale and
management of commercial office buildings. The company opened its Denver
office in 1973.
Suzanne Oldham, a vice president with Jones Lang LaSalle's project and
development services department, would oversee that company's part of the
process if the contract is successfully negotiated.
"Jones Lang LaSalle brings a strong real estate perspective," Moulton said.
On the transportation side, Jones Lang LaSalle was involved in the
redevelopment of Grand Central Station in New York City and Union Station in
Washington, D.C. The company also has worked on several airport projects
worldwide.
Jones Lang LaSalle's international headquarters are in London; its national
headquarters are in Chicago. Locally, the company employs about 120 people.
Oldham said her company chose the team carefully, making sure that many of
the players were local.
"One of our philosophies was that all of our leads should be local," Oldham
said. "We also wanted teams with international and national experience on
transportation projects."
Jones Lang LaSalle also looked for companies they'd worked with before.
CRL Associates Inc. will get the word out about the project and coordinate
all public involvement. CRL has worked on many high-profile campaigns
locally and statewide, including the "No on Amendment 21" effort in 2000.
CRL's Maria Garcia Berry will lead the community outreach effort.
Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners LLP is a New York City firm
founded 35 years ago. It carries a wealth of transit station experience
including working with Jones Lang LaSalle on Grand Central Station.
Beyer Blinder Belle had been eyeing Denver Union Station for some time,
waiting for a request for proposals and talking about the project with Jones
Lang LaSalle, said Douglas McKean, a partner, architect and landscape
architect with the company.
"The firm was founded on the principle of making cities better. We look at
the inherent value of things already built," McKean said. "We'd rather
breathe new life into something. It's in our nature and we've been doing it
for all our 35 years."
Denver Union Station offers a perfect mix of renewing the old and adding the
new, he said.
Civitas Inc., a Denver-based urban design, planning and landscape
architecture company, has worked on big infrastructure projects including
the Speer Boulevard tunnel under Broadway and Lincoln Street, as well as
serving as the lead site designer for Six Flags Elitch Gardens in the
Central Platte Valley.
The company will focus on "the big picture," master planning piece.
The company was drawn to the potential that Denver Union Station holds, said
Eric Anderson, a principal with the company.
"That building has been underutilized since I've known it. The opportunity
is amazing; this will be the main multimodal station. The potential for
downtown is unlimited," Anderson said.
Continuum Partners LLC will focus on the development side of the master
plan. The station project "absolutely fits our target zone," said Will
Fleissig, a director and co-founder of the company.
The company's experience in developing mixed-use projects will help the
entire site financially, he said. Continuum's projects include 16 Market
Square, a mixed-use building in LoDo. The building includes condos, retail
and office space. Continuum is also heading up the massive redevelopment of
Villa Italia mall in Lakewood.
"How do I get the most value from the 18 acres and do it while protecting
the historic train station? How that development occurs will go a long way
toward paying for the transit station that everybody wants," Fleissig said.
The transportation side of the team includes Parsons Brinckerhoff, Arup, and
TranSystems Corp., three engineering and transportation companies with
experience from across the nation and around the world.
Parsons Brinckerhoff was founded in 1885 with its inaugural project being
New York City's first subway system. The company's work around Colorado
includes E-470, Denver International Airport and on-call engineering
contracts with the city of Denver, RTD and the Colorado Department of
Transportation.
Nationally and internationally, the company has worked with transportation
systems including passenger rail, freight rail, buses and car traffic.
"This was a natural for us," John Valsecchi, assistant vice president and
Denver operations manager, said of the station project. "We also consider
this a landmark project in Denver."
If negotiations prove successful, Parsons Brinckerhoff would be leading the
engineering and environmental arms of the master planning process, Valsecchi
said.
Arup, a branch of London-based Arup Group with 6,500 employees, has worked
on transportation terminals around the world, including in the U.S. the new
Terminal 4 at John F. Kennedy Airport and Penn Station in New York City and
the redevelopment of the TransBay bus station in San Francisco.
Denver Union Station offers the company "a chance to do more than come up
with a transit terminal, but a gateway to the city," said principal Andrew
Wisdom.
During the master planning process, the company would be involved in
designing the terminal buildings west of the historic station to a point
where RTD could build them, Wisdom said.
TranSystems Corp., based in Kansas City with an office in Denver, offers
experience in working with railway systems, according to Gary Johnson, a
senior associate and the company's lead for the station project. The company
also does highway design and works on deep water ports.
Locally, they've worked on highway interchanges and done design and
consulting work for CDOT, including studying options for alleviating the
clogged Interstate 70 path to the ski areas.
Should the entire team get the contract, TranSystems would be involved in
analyzing how to get commuter, freight and Amtrak trains into and out of the
station area safely, Johnson said.
"Trains are a different animal than what we're used to; they're sensitive to
grade and curves," he said.
The company also works on what kind of maintenance facilities are needed to
support the operation.

WHO ELSE IS INVOLVED
According to Oldham, other team members include:
Akin, Gump, Strauss, Haer & Feld LLP, a law firm, will handle environmental,
zoning and legal issues.
Economic & Planning Systems will handle economics and real estate
consulting.
Pinyon Environmental Engineering Resources Inc. will work on environmental
issues.
Preservation Partnership, a Denver architectural firm, will focus on
historic preservation.
Goodson & Associates Inc. will provide geotechnical engineering expertise.
Goodbee & Associates will work on environmental assessment issues.
Lund Partnership Inc., based in Lakewood, will provide surveying support.
HC Peck & Associates will work on land and right-of-way issues.
Pyramid Printing will provide graphics support for preliminary engineering
and design phase.
Smiley & Co. will offer organizational development services.
John Phillips Printing will provide graphic support for the public
involvement process.
Paying for the transit network and station redevelopment will be key.
RTD and the city had a budget of $3.2 million to pay for the master planning
portion, but there's not much money squirreled away for the network of light
and commuter rail systems intended to intersect at Denver Union Station.
The new Central Platte Valley line, running from the Auraria campus to the
station, opens April 5 and the 16th Street Mall shuttle buses already are
turning around on land behind the station.
But RTD only expects enough money to pay for the construction of one more
light rail line any time soon -- and mayors and county commissioners around
the metro area are clamoring for transit improvements.
RTD's solution: a sales tax increase approved by voters that would raise
$4.4 billion to build the entire network in 10 years. The increase would
raise sales taxes within the transit agency's district from 0.6 percent to
0.1 percent -- or a dime for every $10 worth of goods bought.
Two bills in the state Legislature would allow RTD to put the measure on the
ballot. One would restrict RTD to a one-time effort this fall, while the
other would allow RTD to ask voters for a tax increase as needed.
But the station is the linchpin of the overall mass transit network, and
it's safe in public hands, Marsella said.
"There's so many pieces coming together," he said. "We have the property,
that's so important. We're not racing the clock against a private
development.
"Is the cup half-empty or is the cup half-full? I'd say it's half-full."

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The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org

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