(rshsdepot) Union Station-Denver, CO

[Bernie Wagenblast <brwagenblast_@_comcast.net>]

Plan to Transform Denver Station into Transportation Hub Could Face
Roadblocks

Denver Post...09/26/2002

By Trent Seibert

A plan to transform Denver's Union Station into an internationally
recognized transportation hub and tourist mecca could be facing its first
roadblocks.
The initial stages of the redevelopment plan -- from the public purchase of
the 122-year-old granite station to the creation of a team of experts to
oversee the plan's initial stages -- have been successful.

Now, it gets more difficult for the project's cheerleaders as they try to
persuade downtown neighbors to accept the plan, get city officials to
approve a new kind of zoning, and sell voters on a $ 4.85 billion
transit-expansion package within the next two years.

That package contains the $ 130 million officials say is key to
jump-starting the station's redevelopment, which could ultimately cost
hundreds of millions of dollars.

Another potential land mine: Consultants unveiled 14 renderings of a future
Union Station at a town meeting earlier this month. A coalition of officials
from four public agencies and a committee of 94 people who have an interest
in the project must build a consensus on what it will look like.

The group must narrow down that list by a Dec. 12 town meeting.

"I hope it won't be like the old saying, 'If committees choose a color, it
will be beige,"' said longtime Denver resident Cyndeth Allison, who has been
following the project.

A key meeting of government and community leaders is scheduled for tonight
to outline the best ways to keep the redevelopment on track. The Union
Station Advisory Committee session begins at 5:30 at RTD headquarters, 1600
Blake St.

And at 5 p.m. Tuesday, the Regional Transportation District, the chief
agency behind the Union Station redevelopment, will unveil its
multibillion-dollar, 10-year plan to roll out 110 miles of new rapid-transit
lines, known as FasTracks, which includes the key Union Station funding.

As it stands now, Union Station is no hub. It is home to a train that takes
skiers to the mountains and an Amtrak train that pulls in twice a day. Light
rail stops there, but officials from throughout the region envision it as a
downtown link for at least seven rail lines to the suburbs and to Denver
International Airport.

"It's a natural hub, a perfect location to bring our lines together," RTD
chief Cal Marsella said.

But some of the designs showcase offices, shops, condos and hotels. Other
designs focus on erecting buildings to serve as headquarters for
transportation organizations, such as RTD and Greyhound.

While the officials in charge say a new Union Station could open by 2008,
they concede a fight likely will erupt soon.

"Getting rid of the alternatives is a hard thing to do," said RTD's Dave
Shelley, a member of the project's management team. "It's going to be very
controversial."

Debate already has started in some circles.

Downtown businesses want to make sure that turning the station into a major
transportation hub doesn't simply choke that section of the city with
commuters and other travelers.

Mass-transit officials will need to make sure they can transport people from
the station throughout the 16th Street Mall area and the city, said Anne
Warhover, president of the Downtown Denver Partnership, a nonprofit group
that advocates for downtown businesses. RTD officials say the free mall
shuttle, which provides 55,000 trips each weekday, cannot handle many more
people during peak hours.

"Our hot button is how to distribute thousands and thousands of people
downtown," Warhover said.

Others want to make sure the needs of bicyclists and pedestrians at a new
Union Station are not ignored.

"That's a concern of mine," said Jon Muoz, who represents bikers and hikers
on the Union Station Advisory Committee. "I have the least money on my side
of any group down there, but I have the most constituents."

If those behind the project can pull it off, they predict they can create a
transportation station as important to the region as Denver International
Airport, and rival stations such as Gare d'Est in Paris, or Washington's
Union Station.

The number of people involved will ensure the success of the project,
according to Suzanne Oldham of Jones Lang LaSalle, the leader of the
consultants overseeing the project.

"We took the public involvement very serious from day one," she said. "It's
a heartstring for many people."

Many look at Union Station as a Colorado landmark. Denver Mayor Wellington
Webb referred to it in his last State of the City address. It is where, he
said describing himself, a "scrawny, asthmatic kid from Chicago got off the
train in his new hometown."

That heartstring is so important the key players have agreed to keep the
historical gray and white facade of the station and its vast marble inside
intact.

"It's an icon," said Kathleen Brooker, president of Historic Denver. "It's
not going to be compromised."

Still, the quest for a better Union Station is high stakes.

In 2000, RTD, the city of Denver, and the Denver Regional Council of
Government -- a group that represents municipalities across the metro
area -- each chipped in to purchase the station and the 19.5 acres it sits
on for $ 49.8 million.

Much of that money came from a pool that would have paid for upgraded road
intersections or additional public transportation in the metro area.

"I don't see it as a gamble, I see it as an investment," said DRCOG
executive director Bill Vidal.

A commissioner from Douglas County agreed, saying residents should support
the plan. "When asked if we would help develop Denver Union Station, our
local governments were unanimous that funding for this important project was
an investment in the future for all of us," Melanie Worley said.

Officials say they are hopeful the project will continue, even if voters
defeat the FasTracks proposal. With four public agencies pushing the
project -- RTD, DRCOG, the city of Denver and the Colorado Department of
Transportation -- and opportunities for private businesses to invest, they
hope to get the cash to keep moving forward.



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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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