Union Station Tour This Saturday, July 16

Archive of entries posted on July 2011

Union Station Tour This Saturday, July 16

Posted by Ken Schroeppel on July 14, 2011

I’m predicting that it won’t rain Saturday morning, so let’s do a Union Station walking tour!

For those of you who have not yet checked out in person the huge amount of activity going on at Union Station—this is your chance.

Meet me at 17th & Wynkoop at about 9:50 AM this Saturday, July 16. We’ll get started promptly at 10:00 AM and we’ll conclude around 11:00 at the Millennium Bridge. During that one hour, you’ll see and learn a lot about Downtown’s biggest project and the future hub for the region’s transit system.

Normally, the suggested donation for the tour is $10 with proceeds going to the non-profit Union Station Advocates. However, for this Saturday’s tour, all donations received will be given to the two model railroad clubs, the Platte Valley & Western Model Railroad Club and the Denver Society of Model Railroaders, that have substantial model railroad layouts in the basement of Union Station. During last week’s huge rainstorm, the rooms where the clubs’ models are set up experienced major flooding. While most of the models themselves were spared, some electronics and other systems were damaged by the water and mud. By joining us on Saturday for the tour, your donations will help these two groups recover from the mess. Whatever donations are raised from Saturday’s tour, Union Station Advocates will match.

See you Saturday morning!

Filed under Events & Meetings, Union Station.

2 Comments

Denver Union Station Update #73

Posted by Rick Anstey on July 13, 2011

Here is a quick update on several elements of the project: Chestnut Pavilion, Chestnut Place (the street), the light rail overhead catenary system, and signs of finishing touches.

In Update #72, I showed you preparations for constructing the Chestnut Pavilion which will be one of the entry and exit points between the underground bus facility and ground level. As of today, the framework has been built. Here it is from opposite perspectives. I took the left photo today and the right one yesterday.

Here’s a shot of Chestnut Place from 16th Street. Notice the traffic signals and street lights. The closest ones at the intersection of Chestnut Place and 17th Street are on the roof of the bus terminal.

Here is a photo from the Union Gateway Bridge of what appears to be one of the more complicated parts of the project: the overhead catenary system (the light rail power system).

There are more signs of finishing touches. The following photo shows construction of a granite sidewalk from the new light rail and mall shuttle stations to 16th Street at the base of the Millennium Bridge. The granite sidewalk is hard to pick out of the photo. Just look for the workers. Also notice the street lights and traffic signals at the intersection of 16th Street and Chestnut Place.

I will be out of town for 10 days starting tomorrow. You can expect the next update shortly after I return. In the meantime, I’m counting on you to let me know if anything big happens.

Today, I uploaded 17 photos to our Denver Union Station page at JobSiteVistor.com.

Filed under Government & Civic, Infill, Transit, Union Station.

1 Comment

2020 Lawrence Project Underway

Posted by Ken Schroeppel on July 13, 2011

After helping fuel the revitalization of the Jefferson Park district with their Zocalo Condos and RiverClay projects, Zocalo Development aimed their sights on Downtown Denver. In late 2010, they opened Solera, a sharp, 11-story, LEED-Gold residential building at 20th & Lawrence. Solera sits on the border between the Central Business District and the Arapahoe Square district, and is a catalyst project for restoring the urban fabric and infusing activity into that part of Downtown. So when you’ve got a good thing going, why not expand on it, right? That’s exactly what Zocalo Development is doing. They’ve moved their sights across the street (20th that is) and are now under construction on an even bigger and greener project: 2020 Lawrence.

2020 Lawrence fills the entire half block along the southeast side of Lawrence between 20th and 21st Streets, except for the small historic building at the corner on 20th. Originally conceived as a condo building, 2020 Lawrence’s design has evolved to become a 231-unit, 10-story, apartment building with plenty of LEED-Gold green features and a clean, modern design like its sibling Solera. Here’s a high-resolution rendering of the project, courtesy of the architect, MBR Studios, and Zocalo Development (click to embiggen):

The $60 million project will feature about 9,000-SF of ground-floor retail space and roof-top amenities such as a fitness center, entertainment deck, dog-walking area, and hot tub. Units will range in size from studios to 2-bedrooms with rents in the $900-$2,000 range.

This project is significant. It demonstrates confidence in Arapahoe Square’s future as Downtown Denver’s next great urban district. The recently completed Northeast Downtown Area Plan sets the vision for Arapahoe Square, and the City, DURA, and the Downtown Denver Partnership are actively working to put in place the necessary policies, programs, incentives, and capital investments to help spur the district’s revitalization.

While LoDo is an established historic district with scattered infill opportunities, and the Central Platte Valley was mostly a blank slate within a reclaimed historic context, Arapahoe Square is a swath of parking lots interspersed by an eclectic mix of historic, contemporary, and industrial properties. Arapahoe Square is the urban district in Denver that reminds me the most of what Portland’s Pearl District was like years ago. If 20 years from now Arapahoe Square is anything like Portland’s Pearl today, we will have successfully transformed the last underdeveloped edge to Downtown Denver into a thriving urban community. 2020 Lawrence, scheduled to open in late 2012, is an important step in that transformation.

Filed under Arapahoe Square, Infill, Residential.

4 Comments

Denver Union Station Development Update

Posted by Ken Schroeppel on July 11, 2011

This isn’t Union Station Update #73. I’ll leave that to Rick, the resident expert of Union Station updating. Instead, I’m offering a bit of news relating to some of the private sector development planned by the Union Station Neighborhood Company (USNC) on the Union Station site, specifically on the North and South wing buildings.

You may recall back in early 2010 that IMA Financial was announced as the anchor tenant for the North wing building at 18th & Wynkoop. Since then, the building’s design has been refined and construction is anticipated to begin in early 2012. USNC has recently updated their website where you’ll find new images of their proposed developments, including the renderings below of the proposed IMA Financial building. Top: View from mid-block between 17th & 18th along Wynkoop. Center: View at night. Bottom: Close-up of integration with the ped bridge over the commuter rail tracks:

While USNC is still finalizing the tenant line-up for the South wing building at 16th & Wynkoop, the design of the structure has been evolving. The South wing building will be related architecturally to the North wing building, but not a twin. The South wing building is also planned to get underway in 2012. Top: View from 17th & Wynkoop across Wynkoop Plaza. Center: View from roughly 18th & Wynkoop. Bottom: View down 16th Street from in front of the Tattered Cover:

This final view looking down Wynkoop from the intersection with 16th shows both buildings and the future Wynkoop Plaza:

Finally, USNC has a new video showing not only some of the proposed vertical developments anticipated at DUS, but the various transit elements and public spaces too. Keep in mind that the designs of the proposed buildings and public spaces shown in the video are still evolving, and many of the future buildings shown are massing models only. Nevertheless, the video presents a compelling vision of what’s to come at Denver Union Station. Visit the USNC website to see the video or use this link Denver Union Station Fly-Through to go directly to the video.

Filed under Infrastructure, Transit-Oriented, Union Station.

15 Comments

Denver Union Station Update #72

Posted by Rick Anstey on July 6, 2011

The tools and materials are in place to build the Chestnut Pavilion. The pavilion will cover an access point to the underground bus terminal from the light rail station. In the lower right corner of the photo below, you can see the open hole of the pavilion and the tops of two, newly-installed escalators wrapped in white plastic. Next to the crane and on two flatbed trailers is the white metal framework for the pavilion canopy. Part of the completed structure can be seen in the left half of this rendering from DenverUnionStation.org.

In the top third of the photo above, you can see the ongoing excavation work behind Union Station.

Below is an aerial view of the new, small canopy over one of the handicap access ramps at the light rail station.

And, work continues on rebuilding Chestnut Place between 16th and 18th streets. The combination of the two photos below gives you the whole picture, although the street does not line up very well.

Please remember to check our Denver Union Station page at JobSiteVistor.com for all the photos.

Filed under Government & Civic, Infill, Transit, Union Station.

1 Comment

No Union Station Tour Saturday, July 2

Posted by Ken Schroeppel on July 1, 2011

We’re going to take a holiday break from our normal Denver Union Station tour schedule of the first and third Saturdays of the month. There will be no tour this Saturday, July 2. Our next Union Station walking tour is planned for Saturday, July 16 at 10:00 AM, but as always, check this blog a day or two before a scheduled Saturday tour for confirmation that it will happen.

Enjoy the long weekend!!

Filed under Events & Meetings, Union Station.

1 Comment

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