Denver’s http://urbandesignpodcast.com/wp/?p=508 Station redevelopment will create a new gateway to Downtown Denver and the region and re-energize Denver’s historic train station. As the hub of RTD’s expanding transit system, the $480 million project includes a new RTD light rail station, a new underground RTD regional bus terminal, and a new commuter rail station for RTD and Amtrak, along with several new signature public spaces. Hosted by Ken Schroeppel, creator of DenverUrbanism.com, our roundtable conversation about the http://urbandesignpodcast.com/wp/?p=508 Station project includes Anne Hayes, chair of http://urbandesignpodcast.com/wp/?p=508 Station Advocates, and Bill Mosher, owner’s representative for the Denver http://urbandesignpodcast.com/wp/?p=508 Station Project Authority.
Ken Schroeppel
Letters from Listeners
I listened to the podcast and enjoyed hearing the discussions on the evolution of this project and the related bike and circulator projects. Hopefully the econnomic downturn will not slow down the private development too much and that the vision can be achieved as quickly as it can.
I hope that the funding issues with FastTracks can be resolved so that all the projects can keep moving forward and get done in a reasonable timeframe. I look forward to coming back and visiting when all these projects are completed.
Paul McGregor, AICP
Interesting topic. If you have any questions regarding Rail Design details ( Platform, LRT, Intercity or commuter) and concept I will be happy to answer.
Miro Budisa EURAIL-ING
It’s great to see massive transit integration like this. In South Africa we have just started, so most of our integration zones are small or greenfield. The govt has just produced a national transport strategy which will see a budget of R18 Trillion ($2 Billion) in 20 years.
Tom Steer
Exciting to hear the next step in weaving transit into the Denver landscape. No doubt this project will spur economic development by attracting hundreds of thousands of commuters to that side of downtown. Can’t wait to see the finished project!
Rob Bacigalupi
In the early 90s, I did a Studio project at CU-Denver on the Denver http://urbandesignpodcast.com/wp/?p=508 Station Area. Nothing but sagebrush and empty dreams at the time. I ran across my sketches recently… darn, I wish I had invested then! Great to see this capstone project on an amazing urban success story.
John Shepard, AICP
Massive transit modal integration is a challenge for Designer, rather than greenfield. I was exciting that I complete design in 2009 to serve a hundreds of thousands future commuters and visitors.
Miro Budisa EURAIL-ING
A very exciting project and I am looking forward to coming back to Denver to see it when the work is completed.
Yes, the private development will take a lot longer to develop and I would agree that slowing down a bit would be a good idea as… well and it might provide for an opportunity to think outside the box for other types of uses besides just the typical office, retail, dinning uses.
This project has all the elements to be wonderful, both for itself and the entire city of Denver. Yet, successful projects are sometimes a double-edged sword. Resulting increases in land prices can price out the very people who would be most likely to need and use the rich transit services being provided. Land speculation and land price inflation can be held in check through the use of appropriate value-capture techniques. Unfortunately, many people confuse “value transfer” with “value capature.” For more information, see http://www.justeconomicsllc.com
Rick Rybeck
Denver is so ready for this project. The area near the station and the ballpark is already blossoming. Like beautiful stations elsewhere, this project will produce visual welcome to the city and a public space. Like http://urbandesignpodcast.com/wp/?p=508 Station in DC and Grand Central in NY, such a gateway reminds us that a station rather than a parking lot is the place to arrive.
Sheryl Gross-Glaser
