DUS Construction Update

The following construction update was provided by DUSPA:

Regional Bus Facility
Crews are continuing to work on waterproofing the roof of the underground bus facility. As sections of this work are complete, the backfill is placed. This process will be ongoing for another month.

Flashing and glazing on the skylights for the underground bus facility will be starting. The skylights provide natural light inside the facility. Also going on inside the bus facility is installation of electrical/mechanical rough-ins.

Crews are also working on the access into the bus facility from the Chestnut Pavilion, stairs and escalator trusses.



Light Rail Platform
The traction power sub-station (TPSS) that was under the Millennium Bridge hasbeen moved so now crews can continue work on the LRT to connect with the current tracks. They will be building retaining walls, duct bank and overhead catenary system (OCS) foundations.



Streets and Utilities
Our work at Wynkoop St. was completed in April. Other utility companies haveadditional work to perform and will be coming back through to repave Wynkoop St. in the next month.

Over the next month, Xcel Steam (not part of the DUS project) will be continuing the steam line installation work on 16th Street and coming through the intersection with Wynkoop. This work may require closures of the intersection.

There are other utility projects in the neighborhood, so please use caution when driving or walking in this area as there may be lane, parking and sidewalk restrictions.

Crews are pouring curb and gutter and paving on Chestnut Place and 16th St. from the Millennium Bridge towards Wewatta St. in preparation for the opening of LRT and the 16th St Mall Shuttle loop in its permanent location and the opening of Chestnut Place.



Behind Denver Union Station
Demolition of the old pedestrian tunnel and other old structures continues in preparation for the excavation for the next phase of the underground bus facility which will begin upon completion. Crews will begin the de-watering process in early June.

Construction Update

Spring is upon us and with that comes a concentrated push of construction activities. Here are some of the activities you will see around Union Station (and some that you can't see).

Regional Bus Facility
Crews are continuing to work on waterproofing the roof of the underground bus facility. As sections of this work are complete, the backfill operation begins. This process will be ongoing for the month.

There is also activity on the interior of the underground bus facility. Crews areworking on the installation of electrical/mechanical rough-ins and masonry forinterior partitions.

Light Rail Platform
The Overhead Catenary System (OCS) poles and cantilevers installation will be ongoing as will work on the east platform.

Streets and Utilities
The utility installation on Wynkoop St. from 15th St. to 19th St. is nearing completion. This has been a collaborative effort with Qwest, Comcast, and DUS Project utility teams. There will continue to be lane, parking and sidewalk restrictions associated with this work. There are other ancillary utility projects, not managed by Kiewit, in the neighborhood as well, so please use caution when driving in this area.

Behind Denver Union Station
In preparation for the excavation for the next phase of the underground bus facility, demolition of old track, HOV lanes, train platforms, canopies and the old pedestrian tunnel are on-going. Once complete, crews will begin the de-watering process. Excavation in the area should begin in May.

DTP Commuter Rail Mock Up

To see a PDF mock-up of the commuter light rail line to DIA, please click HERE





(provided by Denver Transit Partners)

DUSPA Meeting Summary

Below is our summary of the DUSPA meeting April 7:





The meeting opened with the introduction of two new board members and followed with Jim Palmetto of CDOT stating that a Faster grant for improvements to the station related to Amtrak upgrades in the amount of $4,000,000 will be transferred to DUSPA by April 20, 2011.



Bill Mosher then presented the Owner Representative Report, as follows:

• As of the end of March 2011, the overall project is 36 ½ % complete. The LRT is 77% complete, the CRT is 24% complete, the bus box is 36% complete, and the streets and plaza are 21% complete.




• Kiewit is still trucking out asbestos.




• Utility work at Chestnut St. is underway.




• The 18th Street pedestrian bridge is 90% designed.




• The Public Realm Design is scheduled for completion in late May 2011.




• The closings for the USNC purchases of Market Street station is scheduled for end of April and the end of May for the Triangle parcel.




• The public art process is underway.

Bill next addressed USA’s concern related to Public Works intention to vary from the Design Guidelines for crosswalks. The guidelines state that crosswalk should be of paving materials different than the concrete street. Bill agreed that the 17th Street pedestrian crossings at Wynkoop and Wazee should have distinguishing paving, and stated that he would take under consideration the other crossings stated in the guidelines.

The Landmark Commission will meet in mid-May to approve the Wynkoop Plaza design. Prior to that meeting the Peer Review group will give their recommendations on the design. The proposed final design will be presented in a public meeting on April 20, 2011. The proposed bike system will also be presented at that meeting.

Other issues presented included:

• The Wynkoop Plaza will be 100% granite.




• The current plan for accommodating public parking is to locate the 150 spaces in the Lot A building on the southwest side of the train shed.

Frank Cannon of USNC and Mark Falcone of Continuum Partners addressed planned future development and their proposal for the reuse of the historic station (see the USNC plan on their website, http://www.unionstationdenver.com/, to be updated by mid-May). The plan is for a bike station to be located between the EPA building and the triangle parcel. It will include locker rooms with showers, and maintenance and rental facilities. The IMA north-wing building is slated to start construction in the 2nd Quarter of 2012 with move-in by 2013. The planned south-wing building is now planned to be 5 stories, and will include 100,000 square feet. It will break ground in the 2nd quarter on 2012.

USNC is planning to develop two hotels on the triangle parcel lot. Their plan for A Block development includes 3 levels of parking (street level, B1 and B2) and will include 150 spaces for public parking. The B Block building is slated for high-density retail and 350 apartment units.

USNC’s plan for the historic station included:

• The building would function primarily as a train station to include ticketing and baggage storage. The south wing would include a marketplace with spill-out seating on the Wynkoop Plaza, plus retail. The train room would house a café that spans two levels up to the mezzanine, a news stand, and a central information kiosk. The benches would be refurbished and set on carpet to mitigate sound reverberation. Wi Fi would be provided. A more detail description of USNC’s plan appeared in the April 10,2011 Denver Post article by Jeffrey Leib, Ideas for Union Station emerge as redevelopment moves ahead. See http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_17811286




• Mark Falcone stated that the basic renovation costs for the historic station could be funded within the original budget (which according to the current budget is $17,000,000). Tenant improvements for the commercial leasable space would be separately funded by USNC.

Bill Sirois of RTD presented the results of the Expert Panel and the Stakeholder Group process for the reuse of the historic station. See preceding April 5, 2011 RTD board meeting report.
The final presentation at the meeting was by Randy Nichols and Bill Pruter of Nichols Partners who are proposing to develop a building at 20th and Chestnut to include a 42,000 square foot grocery store, 12,000 square feet of in-line retail, and 300 apartment units on the upper four floors. They are looking for a subsidy from the City for the grocery store portion of the development and were hoping for a positive stance by DUSPA for such a project. Several DUSPA board members were reluctant to show support for any private project proposals. The board decided that DUSPA’s Finance Committee would develop a guideline for addressing such requests.

RTD Meeting Debrief

Below is our notes taken from the RTD meeting in early April:

Bill Sirois presented a brief overview of the RTD’s process to assess reuse possibilities for the historic Union Station. He talked about both the Stakeholder group and the Expert panel. Representatives from both groups spoke after Bill stated that the resulting recommendation from the process is to expedite an RFQ/RFP process to generate the most creative ideas for reuse of the station. He said that three general uses were considered during the process: 1. Destination retail on the 1st floor and offices on the 2nd and 3rd floors, 2. A boutique hotel with some destination retail on the first floor, and 3. Some form of public use, like an art gallery. He stressed the small leasable space available in Union Station compared to other stations around the country.

Three members of the Expert panel spoke briefly. One addressed risk associated with each general use stated above. The first use, retail and offices, appears least risky, but perhaps not as creative as other uses that may come out of the RFQ/RFP process. Another stated that the hotel use needed to tie with a nearby existing hotel. This person also stated his reservations about the Wynkoop Plaza design (too many trees, not enough space for activities. The third reinforced the importance of coordinating the historic station reuse, the new wing buildings and the plaza design with the historic LoDo neighborhood.

Jerry Glick then spoke for the Stakeholder group, strongly supporting their recommendation for a RFQ/RFP process.

The floor was then open to questions and comments from the RTD Directors.

Union Station Neighborhood Company Shares Activation Plan

After 50 years of dormancy, the Union Station Neighborhood Company is reawakening Union Station, celebrating its history and transforming it into the centerpiece of a new neighborhood. To learn more, please click the following link:





http://issuu.com/riverfrontpark/docs/historic_station_activation_plan?mode=embed&layout=http%3A%2F%2Fskin.issuu.com%2Fv%2Flight%2Flayout.xml&showFlipBtn=true

RTD Helps Save DUS History

As many of our supporters know, the pedestrian tunnel underneath Union Station was permanently filled in February. Since that time, we've had several questions and concerns regarding the signs and lockers within the pedestrian tunnel.





RTD, an an effort to preserve the historic integrity of these elements of the DUS pedestrian tunnel, is temporarily storing and housing the signs and lockers. There is currently a proposal on the streets for artists to use these historic elements in an interpretive signage display for DUS. Other tunnel signs have been given to the RTD marketing department or are being held in storage.





Thanks to RTD for their efforts to preserve, present, and store this important elements of Denver's history!