The Denver Union Station Project Authority celebrated the opening of Light Rail Plaza at Denver Union Station on May 18, 2013. Light Rail Plaza will serve as the gateway to a new multi-modal transportation district and will facilitate the transfer of thousands of people each day from the light rail to the Downtown Mall Shuttle, new RTD bus facility, upgraded Amtrak Train Hall, historic Union Station, new offices, residences and a variety of public spaces within steps of the light rail plaza.
Future public realm components of the Denver Union Station project currently under construction include the 17th Street Gardens, Wewatta Plaza and Wynkoop Plaza, all scheduled to open within the next two years.
Hargreaves Associates is the lead public realm designer for the Denver Union Station. The 34 acre site is the last major undeveloped parcel in lower downtown and is slated to become a mixed use transit district with a renovated historic station, new multimodal transit center, office, hotel, residential and retail uses. The public realm will include plazas, promenades and streetscapes with a proposed budget of $28 million.