Pick your vision.
Competing development teams detailed two very different concepts Thursday night for the redevelopment of Denver Union Station before a packed audience of nearly 1,000 people at the Paramount Theatre.
Highlights for Union Station Partners, led by Cherokee Investment and Phelps Development, include hotel and condominium towers – one would be 45 stories tall – to the west of Union Station, with light-rail trains coming into the station underground from the west.
The 45-story tower would be about double the original height limit. The team estimated the entire project will cost $1.5 billion.
The team led by Continuum Partners and East West Partners proposed a revival plan for Union Station that would not build as high. It also proposes keeping light rail at street level, two blocks west of the station. A light-rail platform would be where the tracks cross a new 17th Street pedestrian mall.
In both plans, heavier commuter rail trains serving Denver International Airport and Boulder/Longmont would arrive underground on the west side of Union Station, like current Amtrak and Ski Train service.
A separation of the light-rail platform from the underground commuter train at Union Station would mean light-rail patrons transferring to the DIA commuter train would have to walk up to two blocks to make the switch.
Both teams pledged to deliver Union Station transit improvements and much of the surrounding development within five years.
One big difference in the proposals is the price tags. Union Station Partners’ transit plan is estimated to cost $513 million, far more than the $213 million allotted in FasTracks.
While Continuum-East West did not estimate total development costs, team members said the first phase would cost about $85 million more than what’s available. Both teams said they have solutions for the financing gaps.
East West Partners already owns a substantial amount of real estate around Union Station, and Continuum has acquired additional pieces. The properties would become part of the development, expanding the site by an additional 13 acres to 32.5 acres.
Under current zoning, they could develop up to 4.9 million square feet of commercial, retail and residential space. However, the Continuum-East West team is proposing to develop only 2.5 million square feet to keep the flavor of the area. If selected, it plans to build 732,500 square feet of office space, 246,100 square feet of retail, 783,400 square feet of residential and parking for 1,980 cars.
Included in that team’s plan is space for a grocery store to the west of the station and a large- format retailer to the north.
If the Continuum-East West team is selected, Kiewit Construction, the team’s general-contractor partner, will guarantee a maximum price and delivery date for the transit work when the design is 30 percent complete and accepted by the Regional Transportation District.
In the Union Station Partners’ plan, low-rise buildings would surround the 125-year-old Union Station building. Structures would gradually get taller farther from the historic building. The mix would include about 250,000 square feet of retail space, two hotels with a total of about 600 rooms, 1 million square feet of office space and 900 residential units.
An executive committee made up of transportation, planning, state and city officials will select a developer by the beginning of October.
Staff writer Margaret Jackson can be reached at 303-954-1473 or mjackson@denverpost.com.
Staff writer Jeff Leib can be reached at 303-954-1645 or jleib@denverpost.com.
More online: See the plans by .
