Water, concrete, more concrete. That’s the short story of the current situation at Union Station.
First, let’s look at the water situation. Digging phase two of the bus terminal is being held up by ground water. Pumping out the ground water is being held up for analysis of the contaminants in the water, finding an effective method for filtering out those contaminants, and getting approval for the process. In the meantime, I have a good view of a not-so-good reflecting pool.
Now for concrete story number one. The concrete borders for the tear-shaped planters are being poured. Those borders will double as seats for passers-by.
Concrete story number two is about the other half of 16th Street between Chestnut Place and Wewatta Street. As you will recall, the street was torn up during the removal of the light rail tracks that served the light rail station of yesteryear. The new street is in but not quite ready for use. Utility work is still underway at the intersection of Wewatta and 16th. Here’s how it looks from that intersection.
Please check out more current photos at JobSiteVistor.com.
Great update. Thanks for the pics. Have you ever been hassled by police for taking photos? Twice I was taken aside and questioned because taking photos of the Union Station redevelopment was “suspicious.”
Skyscraper page has a pretty good writeup on the topic: http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=168644
On second thuoght, the hassling section mostly applies to rent-a-cops and property owners. Cops are within their right to question you if they think that they have a good reason to. Unless you were harassed, it sounds like they didn’t step out of bounds.
Cahchafish, I have never been hassled or even gotten “the look.”.
Why would the contaminents or the filtration system used last time be any different?
Thanks for another great update!
Chris, I’m not sure why the contaminants are different, but they are. Also, the clean water standards have gotten tougher.
Thanks for the update, I was wondering what was up with the water. Does anyone else find it a little strange that they chose to place a couple of those tear drop planters so close together? Some of them look like no more than 1 or 2 people could squeeze through at a time. Just a little odd for a major access point, plus you want people to sit and hang out along them.
Urban Zen, I have wondered the same thing. It seems like a good looking bottleneck is being created.
Indeed, my first thought as well. Need to see a person in there to get a better sense of the dimensions.
excited to hear that i won’t have to deal with the “no sitting on the planters” police that harass me on the 16th st mall while trying to eat my thai food. as if there were somewhere else to sit.
I am assuming those are the foundation footers for the teardrops. I think the planter walls themselves will have a little bit better spacing. I too am curious about the water contaminants and why it would be different. Did they not install the well pumps before they got down that deep?
Kyle, I think they started digging as soon as possible in hopes that the water problem would be solved quickly. Unfortunately, it has not worked out that way. The good news is, they have a good jump on the hole once the pumping can start.
I believe the seat walls will be on the inside of those foundations, though I agree for a rush hour off load from the train 5 or 6 more feet would be prudent. Maybe the studies showed that level of commuter density rarely exists?!
According to a diagram I have from the project team, the narrowest gaps in between the vent stacks and the tear-shaped landscaped islands are:
7 feet between one of the stacks and one of the tear-shaped islands
8 feet between two of the tear-shaped islands in two different locations
The rest of the gap combinations between the tear-shaped islands and/or the vent stacks are 10′, 11′, 14′, 15′, 18′, and higher.
Pedestrian flow even at peak times shouldn’t be an issue.
Ah yes, footers. Those spacings should be plenty good. Thanks for the info.
[...] Denver Union Station Update #89 http://denverinfill.com/blog/2011/10/denver-union-station-update-89.html [...]
Let’s hope that they get the water drained before we have another flood in the basement. One flood every 78 years is enough in my book. We’ve gotten everything mostly cleaned up & now it’s the little stuff that needs to be fixed at the Platte Valley & Western Model Railroad in the basement. Even though we’re still doing maintenance work, we’re open every Friday from 7pm to 9pm with a couple of great holiday open houses in the coming months.
Chris
Thanks for sharing! I’m a huge fan of the city of Denver. It’s a fantastic place to visit, and union station is full of fun and memories.