(rshsdepot) Union Station, Denver, CO

["Bernie Wagenblast" <brwagenblast_@_comcast.net>]

From the Rocky Mountain News.

Bernie Wagenblast
Transportation Communications Newsletter
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/transport-communications

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PANEL TO REVIEW TRAIN STATION PLANS, OBSTRUCTED VIEW ISSUE

April M. Washington, Rocky Mountain News

A group of historic preservationists complained Monday that a measure before
the Denver City Council doesn't go far enough to protect historic Denver
Union Station.

The council decided Monday to hold the bill in committee for further review.

The measure is aimed at granting historic preservation status to the
123-year-old train station site at 17th and Wynkoop streets.

But the Respect Union Station Ad Hoc Committee has launched a campaign to
oppose aspects of a master plan that call for construction of 65-foot-high
buildings on both ends of Union Station.

The group argues that the planned buildings would block the views of Union
Station and would wipe out open space that could be turned into a park for
lower downtown Denver, an amenity the area lacks.

"This is an historic and wonderful building," said Joanne Salzman, a lower
downtown resident and member of the committee.

"One of the requirements of historic preservation should be that a building
as monumental as this one should be easily seen from all directions. These
buildings are envelopes. Big envelopes."

The November passage of the

$4.7 billion FasTracks proposal would jump-start the redevelopment of Union
Station. The measure seeks an increase from 0.6 percent to 1 percent in the
sales tax that the Regional Transportation District collects in the
seven-county metro region.

The funds would pay for an expansive network of light-rail and commuter-rail
lines, with Union Station acting as a hub.

Gwen Anderson, Denver's project manager for Union Station, called the vision
to preserve and redevelop the train station sound. "It's a train station
that's intimately tucked into the core of downtown. It's not only meant to
be looked at and admired, but it's meant to be a center of activity,"
Anderson said.

The master plan calls for two four- to five-story commercial buildings that
would bookend the train station's wings. The plan would include installation
of two new light-rail lines and three new diesel-powered commuter-rail lines
into Union Station, plus the construction of buildings behind the station.

Formidable opposition to the plan is mounting. The Respect Union Station
group now boasts a roster of 45 people, including Denver historian Tom Noel.

"It's a great landmark of Denver," said Noel, a history professor at the
University of Colorado at Denver and noted author. "It's a centerpiece of
the LoDo district. It's important to allow some breathing space."

Councilman Rick Garcia argued that opponents are missing the big picture.
"The showpiece of the structure is the train building," he said. "That's the
centerpiece, and it will not be obstructed at all. The new development is
essential to the future transit use, the mall and businesses along 18th and
Wynkoop."

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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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End of RSHSDepot Digest V1 #923
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The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org