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.
These buildings look great. Hopefully there are some new restaurants with plenty of outdoor seating taking advantage of those big setbacks and the plazas. Do we know the architect and contractor yet?
The architect for both wing buildings is Anderson Mason Dale Architects. The general contractor for the south wing is Kiewit and Haselden for the north wing.
I wish I were impressed with these buildings but unfortunately I’m not. Denver has enough nondescript glass boxes that look like they could be anywhere USA and now we will have a whole neighborhood that will look trendy and dated 15 or 20 years from now. I am holding my breath to see the final product but what I see so far is another missed opportunity. I’m not saying I want iconic buildings that compete with Union Station but these are just BORING!
Yes, boring buildings lacking the nice details found in the station, but it looks really engaging to be a pedestrian here because the public spaces are well done with high quality materials, lots of trees, and interactive elements. I just hope that private development succeeds at making this a very active block all hours of the day even if the wing buildings are boring in photos. It could be a nice comfortable space to exist in for free in downtown without aggressive branding. Where are the food trucks going to park in these pictures?
I, for one, don’t necessarily think that these buildings are all that boring, but I can see what you’re saying. There were some older renderings showing the wing buildings after build out that were really great; big, interesting glass cubes.
Agreed… I’m just thrilled to see more rectangles and boxes taking over parking lots…
As much as I’m sick of parking lots, I’m sick of rather featureless, non-interesting architecture. Anywhere USA works well, city core or suburban? I can’t tell?
Sure, this stuff won’t take away from the grandeur of the Union Station, but at the same time, it doesn’t seem to really add anything other than a way to block views of the interesting older architecture.
Soon, Union Station will be lost to the center of the city as was Grand Central in NYC. Granted, I think that’s kind of cool, but sort of sad at the same time. Union Station’s always looked great at the base of the city for photo ops, etc. from the Highlands and I’ve always felt I was home when coming back into town after traveling and seeing that site.
C’est la vie – surely there will be opportunities to have more interesting architecture in the space beyond Union Station that will add and not detract from the new ever-evolving Denver skyline.
Definitely boring, but that is probably done in an effort to not upstage the train station.
I agree with SVC. These buildings lack creativity and are just plain boring. They look like a lot of the other newer buildings in the area. So sad.
These buildinga are perfectly fine for their purpose. Clean lines, open and transparent at the plaza. And they’ll look just as fine 30-40 years from now. That being said, I do hope the architecture becomes a little more aggressive as we move away from the station.
I think these buildings blend in so much that they just become filler. I think if they were two stories taller, with the top two storeys set back, they would have a stronger impact and still defer to Union Station. They seem awfully small to occupy such a prominent downtown location. Otherwise, I am sooooo glad they are building the two wing buildings, instead of leaving a huge amount of open space around Union Station as the one group originally wanted.
Corey, the height of the buildings were set so that they do not exceed the height of the main cornice line on the historic station that runs right under the clock.
My Perspective: Visit any great city (or lame city for that matter), and about 98% of the buildings are background buildings, i.e. “boring” as in they represent the architectural vernacular of the era in which they were built in a modest, functional, and unexciting manner. Not only is that what we need at these two locations, to defer to the historic station building, but even without the historic station there, these two wing buildings would be just fine as they are.
Look at the historic buildings across the street from Union Station along Wynkoop: a stretch from 14th to 19th streets of relatively identical brick, late-Victorian-era commercial buildings. Imagine critics at that time complaining that all those new warehouse/mercantile structures along Wynkoop are boring and unimaginative and “all look the same”. Yet today we treasure those buildings specifically because they represent commonplace buildings that reflect the architecture of the era in a legitimate, quality manner.
What is important in city-building is not so much what new buildings look like, as long as they are a decent representation of the architecture of their time, but the quality of their craftsmanship and the authenticity of their materials, that they engage the pedestrian at street-level, and that they reflect a spirit of pride and permanence in their construction. That’s what matters, not if they are “exciting” or “boring” architecturally.
I have to say the computer graphic illustrations have gotten to be really amazing. It must be fun to be an architect creating the renderings.
I hear what you are saying Ken but the new building on the corner of 15th and Wynkoop ( where the old post office was) is a good example of new construction that not only fits in to LODO but also stands out on it’s own. Do you know who the architect was for that building? and for continuity, why was the same architect not used for the wing buildings next door? Just wondering; I just wish these new “wing buildings” were more like that. Just b/c there are pedestrians in the rendering does not make them pedestrian friendly. We shall see.
I agree Union Station is a landmark and should be treated as such, but the surrounding area need not be boring. But, what I think Denver needs is a true building icon like the CN Tower in Toronto, the Space Needle in Seattle, or the Arch in St. Louis. Not just a tall building, but an iconic structure to add character to the city. (And not like the tower at Elitch’s because that is a joke.) A true tourist attraction to capture those people who pass through Denver on the way to the mountains, or other points West. I think the ideal place to build such a structure would be in the vicinity behind Union Station. Located next to the transit center (airport transport) would be great, and it would help stretch and define the downtown skyline. Does anyone know if Denver has ever considered building a structure like this? Would Denver ever build something like this?