DENVER - As a public service to the city, area graduate students have spent the last semester researching, examining and developing plans to revitalize Denver's Union Station. On Tuesday night, four plans made by advanced planning studio graduate students from the University of Colorado, Denver were unveiled. Each plan includes landscaping and buildings that will house new restaurants, cafes and stores in what is currently a parking lot on the east side of the station. None of the plans are binding but each will be given to the projects developer and landscape architect for consideration. The plans were presented to city planners, advocacy groups and the public and included sections, elevations and perspective drawings. The 16 graduate students aspired to create a flexible, inclusive and active space that celebrates the historical character, integrates community identity, supports its mass transit function and sustains the local and regional roles of the station. Jeremy Nemeth, professor of Planning and Design said, "I think they really came out with some interesting solutions and the really great thing is that they were given the same information, all the students, and yet the four groups came up with very different plans." The four different plans varied widely in the areas of circulation of pedestrian traffic, placement of pathways, the structure of new building, sitting areas and retail development opportunities such as a grocery store. Union Station is being redesigned as the centerpiece of FasTracks. The voter approved transit expansion plan incorporates both light and heavy rail trains. To learn more about the plans visit index or home .
