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.