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Here's a rundown of all the most recent news involving Denver Union Station and the FasTracks rail buildout plan.

Competing Union Station plans bring different benefits to Denver's table
By Margaret Jackson
The Denver Post -- Posted: 11/13/2011 01:00:00 AM MST

The hotel proposed for Denver Union Station would generate over $22 million more in revenue for RTD than the competing plan with a proposed market, but many say it would not create the public space envisioned for the historic building...

...Union Station Alliance, led by Sage Hospitality's Walter Isenberg and longtime Lower Downtown developer Dana Crawford, wants to spend $48 million transforming the historic building into a hotel with the train room serving as the lobby. The project would have local and national tenants, with everything from quick-service restaurants to gourmet grab-and-go and a 24-hour diner serving travelers passing through the station...


...In addition to the market, which would be operated by a single local company, Union Station Neighborhood Co.'s proposal features the Terminal Bar at the current Amtrak ticket window, and cafes and office space on the second and third floors, including an incubator for "creative class" businesses...

...The other issue, Falcone said, is that a hotel lobby would not be able to handle the volume of passengers expected to move through the station, which will serve as a multi modal transit hub. RTD anticipates 100,000 passengers a day will move through Union Station. By comparison, Denver International Airport handles about 140,000 travelers a day.

"What better way to preserve the building than using it for what it was originally intended to be," Falcone said...
..."This building is the gateway and iconic representation of the (FasTracks) project, and it needs to be active and it needs to be fun," said Bill Mosher, senior managing director and principal of Trammell Crow, who is representing the Denver Union Station Project Authority. "Having the public place being primarily the train hall and having active uses in the wing buildings on the main floor is critical. I think both proposals do that in different ways."...


Read more: Competing Union Station plans bring different benefits to Denver's table - The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/business/c...#ixzz1e2dXXHcN
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RTD, Denver have tentative deal on adding one or two stations on airport train line
By Jeffrey Leib
The Denver Post -- Posted: 11/17/2011 01:00:00 AM MST


The Regional Transportation District​ (RTD) celebrated a major milestone for the FasTracks program on August 26th, 2010 with a groundbreaking ceremony for the East Corridor commuter rail line between Denver Union Station and Denver International Airport. (DP | HELEN H. RICHARDSON)

RTD and Denver have struck a tentative deal to collectively spend about $75 million making improvements to the Denver International Airport commuter-train corridor, including track upgrades that should facilitate the addition of one or two additional rail stations in the Peña Boulevard right of way.

The Regional Transportation District's current plan for the $1.1 billion airport train does not include a station at East 62nd Avenue and Peña, or along East 72nd Avenue just east of Tower Road.

Private developers who own land at both locations, and city and airport officials, have been working with RTD to ensure that the airport train line is built in a way that would most easily and economically accommodate the addition of one or both stations.

The 72nd Avenue station site is close to where a possible 1,500-room Gaylord hotel complex may be located, as well as property being considered as a relocation site for the National Western Stock Show...


Read more: RTD, Denver have tentative deal on adding one or two stations on airport train line - The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_19...#ixzz1e2evFB1K
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Hancock proposal could lead to another station on DIA rail line
Denver Business Journal by Cathy Proctor, Reporter
Date: Thursday, November 17, 2011, 3:49pm MST

A proposal from Denver Mayor Michael Hancock to the Regional Transportation District .. would help pay for double-tracking about a mile of the FasTracks East rail line to Denver International Airport, allowing a new station to be added to the line sometime in the future.

“These improvements will facilitate the timely construction of the Eagle project and will enhance the safety of the people who live and work in the Gateway region,” Hancock said in a recent letter to RTD board chairman Lee Kemp.

“The improvements outlined in this proposal total $75 million. The city will provide RTD with $57 million in upfront funding, $27 million of which will be repaid pursuant to the terms outlined above,” Hancock said.

The proposal must be approved by Denver’s city council and RTD’s board of directors...

http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/ne...o-another.html

DIA settles with Santiago Calatrava, keeps most designs, pays another $793,000
By Jeffrey Leib
The Denver Post -- Posted: 11/16/2011 05:02:21 PM MST

Denver officials have reached a settlement with Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava and his design firm that will allow Denver International Airport to use most of the work Calatrava performed on the airport's South Terminal project, officials said today.

In a briefing to Denver city council members, DIA Manager Kim Day and city attorneys said the agreement calls for the airport to pay Calatrava's remaining invoices on his design work, totaling about $543,000, and a $250,000 licensing fee that will allow DIA to use the bulk of the architect's drawings submitted so far.

In September, Calatrava representatives said the designer and his firm, Festina Lente, were pulling out of the $500 million South Terminal project because of disagreements with the venture's program manager, Parsons Transportation Group, and Festina Lente's lack of faith in the project's budget and timetable.

The project includes a train station at the south end of DIA's terminal for RTD's FasTracks train to the airport; a public plaza extending from the terminal's fifth level, and a 500-room Westin hotel atop the plaza and train station...


Read more: DIA settles with Santiago Calatrava, keeps most designs, pays another $793,000 - The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/breakingne...#ixzz1e2gUAY5i
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West Corridor Progress: Auraria West Station Complete!
Posted by Ryan Mulligan on November 17, 2011
Denverurbanism.com

My apologies in advance that I haven’t kept everyone up to date on progress along the West Corridor. However, that will change starting now. It’s time for our second West Corridor update. For comparison sake, you can find last year’s updates from DenverInfill here (keep in mind there are 3 updates – scroll down to find them all). We’ll focus on the major components (stations, bridges, tunnels, etc.) of the $700 million light rail corridor that will open in May 2013. As with the last update, we’ll start at the Auraria West Station and work our way west towards the end-of-line station at the Jefferson County Government Center.

As a sign of progress as we move closer to the completion of the West Corridor, RTD opened a relocated Auraria West Station at the end of October. RTD had to move the station in order to allow trains coming in from and going out along the West Corridor could make their way into Union Station along the existing Central Platte Valley (CPV) Spur. The station was moved about 300 feet from its previous location on the east side of 5th Street outside the Auraria Campus Administrative Building to the west side of 5th Street behind the Printing and Distribution Center near parking lot A...


Source: Ryan @ Denverurbanism.com