The Regional Transportation District’s FasTracks project, approved by voters in 2004, is expected to spawn six new rail corridors and extensions to three existing corridors in the metro area. Among them will be the Gold Line, running 3.5 miles north from Union Station before clickety-clacking its way west to Wheat Ridge, with seven stops along the way.
Completion of the Gold Line is scheduled for 2016.
As with the metro area’s existing rail lines, the stations along the Gold Line are expected to encourage transit-oriented development or high-density business and residential clusters around train stops. While such projects probably are still years away, anticipation already is building in some neighborhoods along the 11.2-mile route.
38th: Generally near West 38th Avenue and Fox Street, though the exact location is still being determined.
“It will be great for us,” said Sunnyside neighborhood dweller Bear Saw kins, who has owned a home on Alcott Street since 1989.
While tending to a recent Sunday afternoon yard sale, Sawkins said members of his household do much of their shopping around West 52nd Avenue and Wadsworth Boulevard in Arvada.
Riding the rails will enable them to drop one of the two family cars, he said.
Pecos: Near Pecos Street, just south of Interstate 76 in Adams County, exact location not finalized
Two parallel sets of rail tracks now intersect Pecos Street, and slow-moving freight trains sometimes block traffic there for 30 minutes at a time, according to Steve and Tracie Taylor, residents of the area since 1993.
“I wonder what they plan to do about that,” Steve Taylor said.
Like several of their neighbors, when asked, the Taylors were unaware of the planned rail stop. But the idea is a good one, they said, adding that they hope it will spawn new commerce around the tracks, where several aging shops are closed.
Federal: Interstate 76 and Federal Boulevard in Adams County.
The stop would be located in a gritty district dominated by used-car dealers and densely packed mobile-home parks. Farther south toward Regis University, the tree-lined streets are more spacious, but the blight of foreclosures is evident. Mixed among nicely trimmed bungalows are vacant properties missing windows and doors.
Of the former sort, an 810-square-foot home is listed for $137,500 by Re/Max agent Terry Harrod. Her client is a group of four siblings in their 70s who have owned the home for 48 years.
“A lot of my neighbors have been there forever,” said Harrod, who moved to the area five years ago. Harrod said the light-rail station will be an asset for the neighborhood, and she always mentions the light rail to prospective buyers.
Sheridan: Sheridan Boulevard at West 58th Avenue, a quarter-mile north of I-76.
Here the existing tracks pass under, not over, the main road. Within walking distance from the future station is a secluded enclave of Arvada framed by Sheridan Boulevard, Tennyson Street, West 60th Avenue and West 61st Place.
Only a few “For Sale” signs dot the streets along Vrain, where Gail Michaels has rented a home for 12 years. The neighborhood is solid and stable and couldn’t be made any more so by the light rail, she said.
But Michaels plans to move by November to care for her sick mother. “I hate to go,” she said tearfully while closing up after a yard sale.
Olde Town: Olde Town Arvada, the thriving business district just west of Wadsworth at Grandview.
The area is already much improved as a result of federal urban renewal funds secured by the city of Arvada, said Pat Malone, who owns a business nearby.
He and his wife, Jeannie, bought a two-bedroom condo in 2005 at Water Tower Village. It’s a five-minute walk from the future Gold Line station.
“We bought it as investment property in anticipation of the light rail,” Pat Malone said.
The condo has been easy to rent out. In three years, only two tenants have lived there. A few neighboring units have come up for sale and changed hands quickly, he said.
Arvada Ridge: Ridge Road and Kipling Street, one-half mile north of I-70, where the tracks now pass over Kipling on a narrow bridge.
To the west is a square mile of newer construction, mostly condos, and the Arvada campus of Red Rocks Community College. East of Kipling is the Sandra Lynn subdivision, filled with 1960s-era homes in varying states of repair. A few foreclosed properties stand vacant.
Carol Tebo has been in the area for 35 years.
“It’s a nice, nice neighborhood,” she said while transporting a bucket of unwanted crab apples to the trash.
Well aware of plans for the Gold Line, she didn’t know its expected completion date. “I look forward to having it. I’ll be riding it downtown,” she said.
Ward: The existing RTD park-n-Ride at Ward Road north of I-70 in Wheat Ridge. Of the seven future Gold Line stops, this one is the farthest from any substantial residential development. It is surrounded by a cemetery, a medical complex, an open field and the interstate.
A mile to the north is the Youngfield Village subdivision. The area’s well-kept homes are worth $350,000 to $400,000, according to real estate agent Walt Scherer, a resident since 1982.
The light-rail stop will be too distant to walk to but still a big plus for the area when it finally arrives in eight years. “I hope I’m around to see it,” Scherer said. “I’ll be 77.”
