Denver Union Station

Location

Denver, Colorado

Product Type

Transportation Facility

Timeline

Project Start: May 2009
Project Completion: July 2014

Overview

The Denver Union Station Redevelopment Project was one of the most comprehensive and ambitious transit-oriented developments built in the U.S. and the first to receive LEED certification. The project transformed 42 acres of former rail yards centered on historic Union Station into a model community of mixed-use development organized around a multi-modal transportation hub in an exemplary, sustainable urban environment.

The Denver Union Station Project Authority (DUSPA), a consortium of the Regional Transportation District, City of Denver, Denver Regional Council of Governments, Colorado Department of Transportation and private citizens appointed by the Mayor, was faced with multiple private owners and nearly $481 million in infrastructure improvements that had to be coordinated and delivered on time and on budget in order to satisfy contractual requirements associated with private development and the construction of regional transit lines.

Opportunity, Solutions & Outcomes

DUSPA hired the TCC as the Owner’s Representative to manage the financing, design and construction of the public infrastructure. TCC has worked with DUSPA to arrange over $300 million in federal loans, manage nearly $200 million in various grants, oversee federal eligibility and compliance requirements, and oversee the design/build team to construct the project within the budget and schedule. The $300 million in federal loans were comprised of two $150 million loans: (1) from the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) Program; and (2) from the Railroad Rehabilitation & Improvement Financing (RRIF) Program. Furthermore, various federal and state grants were applied, for which approximately half will be paid by the transit organization’s regional sales tax and he balance by the City of Denver through a special Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district.

TCC addressed several financing, design, schedule environmental and coordination challenges to ensure that the project was delivered on budget and ahead of schedule.

Upon completion in 2014, the new transit facilities handle more than 200,000 daily trips as the hub of 140 miles of new commuter rail, light rail, and bus rapid transit in Denver and the greater metropolitan region of the Front Range in Colorado. An eight-track rail terminal houses commuter and long-distance rail passengers; a new light-rail transit station will serve three (3) urban transit lines; and a 22-bay underground bus terminal will host regional, express and local buses. Moreover, the extensive surface public streets and plazas will connect and catalyze more than three million square feet of new private development by surrounding land owners.