Executive Summary
The future Olde Town Station (the Station), scheduled to open in 2016, will be located on RTD’s Gold Line, a fully-funded and under-construction electric commuter corridor component of the FasTracks rail system. RTD projects the Gold Line will serve 16,800 to 20,100 riders on an average weekday by 2030, delivering passengers from the Station to Denver Union Station in just 19 minutes.
RTD’s plans call for the Station platform to be located just west of Vance Street on the north side of the existing rail tracks that run along the northern edge of the Property, with parking and eight bus bays to be accommodated on the Property. Construction of a West 56th Avenue connection will run east-west through the Property and an elevator and stairs will connect transit riders from the Property to Grandview Avenue, where riders will then have an at-grade crossing of the tracks to access the platform.
RTD’s original plan, as approved in the 2009 Gold Line Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), was to construct the required 400 commuter parking spaces as a surface parking lot. The EOC Partner Agencies subsequently agreed to minimize the amount of land used for commuter parking and to earmark significant funding to assist with the design and construction of a 400-space parking structure and related elevator on the Property. The EOC’s objective is to preserve premium land and to catalyze transit-oriented development of the highest and best uses. When build-out is complete, the goal for the Project is to include a mix of uses that will complement and enhance the existing character of Olde Town while creating a unique and modern sense of place for the new development. The EOC is not prescribing a specific development program or site design, but instead desires for the ultimate form and program to be a product of the Master Developer’s collaboration with the EOC and a commitment to market viability, innovation, and quality place-making.