The;redevelopment;of;the;historic;Denver;Union;Station;has;been;a;long;time;coming.
Ideas;have;been;flowing;for;decades,;but;the;official;planning;process;began;in
2002;after;the;Regional;Transportation;District;(RTD);initiated;the;purchase;of;Union
Station;in;2001;with;its;owner;partners—the;Colorado;Department;of;Transportation,
the;City;and;County;of;Denver;and;the;Denver;Regional;Council;of;Governments.
THE REVITALIZATION OF
UNION
STATION
Union;Station;is;located;at;the;western;end;of;the;16th;Street;Mall
in;between;lower;downtown;(LoDo);and;the;54-acre;Commons;Park
Neighborhood;in;the;Central;Platte;Valley.;It;will;serve;as;the;“Grand
Central Station” of Denver and a multi-modal transportation hub for
the city and its outlying regions. The following information will help
you get an idea of the enormity of this exciting project.
HISTORY OF UNION STATION
The;first;trains;rolled;through;Denver;in;June;of;1870.;However,
Union;Station;first;opened;in;June;1881.;After;a;fire;and;many
changes, reconstruction and improvements throughout the years,
Union;Station;thrived;in;the;1920s;and;1930s.;At;that;time,;the
station accommodated 80 trains per day. Among famous visitors
such;as;Queen;Marie;of;Romania,;many;U.S.;presidents;also;came
through;Union;Station.;They;included:;Theodore;Roosevelt,;William
Howard Taft, Harry S. Truman and Franklin Delano Roosevelt as
well;as;first;lady;Eleanor;Roosevelt.;Over;the;decades;though,;Union
Station became underutilized.
PROJECT DETAILS
The;Denver;Union;Station;Project;Authority,;created;in;2009;by;the
Denver City Council, oversees the redevelopment project. Transit
construction began in 2010, and renovation of the historic building
began in 2012.
The Millennium Bridge connects Commons Park to LoDo and the
16th;Street;Mall,;with;Union;Station;situated;in;the;heart;of;the;area.
Denver;Union;Station;will;also;have;a;public;12,000;square;foot
“great hall,” or common area, as well as a 112-room hotel, restaurants, retail shops and RTD and Amtrak transit systems.
As;the;center;hub,;Denver;Union;Station;comprises;an;underground
bus station, light rail, shuttles, commuter rail and Amtrak. It will also
invite;limousines,;vans,;taxis;and;bicycles.;Denver;Union;Station;is
part of RTD’s Fas Tracks transit expansion program, which includes
122 miles of new light rail and commuter rail, 18 miles of bus rapid
transit (BRT) and 21,000 additional parking spaces.
Bus Concourse: Replacing Market Street Station, this underground
facility (nearly 1,000 feet long), has 22 bays— 12 for regional and
express busses, eight for downtown circulator busses and two for
other commercial busses.
Light Rail: Relocated to the west end of the site in August 2011, it
supports three lines.
Shuttles: The free 16th Street Mall shuttle was extended to the relo-
cated;Denver;Union;Station;Light;Rail;Station;in;August;2011.;Along
with the free 16th Street MallRide busses, RTD has opened another
