In 1914, the 34-year-old Union Station expanded to accommodate the influx of rail-borne arrivals to the Front Range. Exactly one century later, the gateway to Denver will reopen as a modern transportation hub that pays tribute to its illustrious past.

“If you read the history books, Union Station was not only the center of Denver, it was also the heart and soul of Denver,” says Chad McWhinney, CEO of the McWhinney development company, one of the groups overseeing the train station’s renovation. “We’re preserving the history, character, and integrity of the building while keeping an eye toward the future as well.”

5280 August 2013
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Of course, they’re not the only ones gazing into Denver’s crystal ball: Multiple companies have shovels in the ground on several projects in the long-dormant land between LoDo and LoHi, including apartments, retail centers, green space, and a long-awaited King Soopers, all expected to be finished within the next year or so.

For their part, Union Station developers are working to keep the heart of this new ’hood uniquely Denver by filling the 10 ground-floor restaurant and retail spaces with local and regional proprietors. Boulder’s the Kitchen [Next Door] and Snooze have already claimed two slots.
“Our goal,” McWhinney says, “is to make the ground floor Denver’s living room.”
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EAT • DRINK • SLEEP
In the station’s great hall, you’ll find a full bar that will feature 40 to 50 local craft beers on tap. “Our goal is to invest in Colorado,” McWhinney says. “So we’re purposely not putting in chains.” The project also includes the construction of a 112-room luxury hotel in the historic building, and a new restaurant by Fruition chef Alex Seidel is in the works.

RESTORE
In a nod to the past, the project’s architects are preserving and restoring much of the building’s original ironwork and columns. You’ll also find a display featuring artifacts and treasures the renovation uncovered—among them old coins, newspapers, a bank vault, a stretcher from World War I, and the entrance to a tunnel that Prohibition-era bootleggers used to run booze to the
Oxford Hotel.

RIDE
Union Station’s transportation hub will feature light rail and commuter rail platforms, a stop for the 16th Street Mall shuttle, and a 22-bay underground bus terminal. All told, the station is designed to accommodate 10,000 people a day.