Depot Moving Down the Line? The exterior of the 1890 Union Pacific Depot building is made of solid sandstone, but opinions about its ultimate coordinates haven't recently been as rock-steady. The Depot currently occupies underutilized space in a very busy Crossroads Commons Shopping Center - visualize trying to find a parking space outside of Whole Foods during any given weekend afternoon, for example. Most recently, the Boulder, Colorado Jaycees have owned and operated the building as a site for meetings, occasional sales and community parties. The Crossroads Commons owner Regency Retail Partners desires the space to facilitate a major center redevelopment, including a Whole Foods expansion, a new Barnes & Noble bookstore building and perhaps other changes, but the Depot building is part of the early history of the City of Boulder and doesn't have a new home identified - yet. Boulder's City Council will hold a public hearing Tuesday about the various factors involved in a possible near-term Depot relocation, including finances, historic preservation and real estate. The building was built in 1890 on the north side of Canyon Boulevard at 14th Street. It served as a railroad passenger station until 1957, and it was used as a bus terminal and travel agency until 1973, according to Tuesday's agenda packet. The building was under the threat of city demolition in 1973, and the Jaycees bought the Depot and moved it to its current site. The northwest corner of 30th and Pearl Streets was then the home of the Pow Wow Rodeo Grounds, and the Depot was placed adjacent to railroad tracks that were then on the site. The site today is vastly different and the tracks are gone, but the Depot could wind up near transit again. The city is in the middle of its Transit Village Area Plan (TVAP) process for land east of 30th, and potential Depot sites include the planned RTD bus terminal area east of 30th and Pearl or west of a commuter rail station planned for just north of Goose Creek along existing tracks. Boulder citizen Bill Flinchbaugh has recently served as Depot building manager for the Jaycees, and said he hopes the TVAP ultimately includes a space for the Depot. “I think transit is appropriate when you consider the building's original purpose and what the community expects when it comes to a next use of the building,” said Flinchbaugh. “My preference is the rail location, but if it sits on the Pollard (RTD bus terminal) property, I'd be happy either way.” But land west of the railroad right-of-way near the rail station is privately owned, and an entire Depot relocation project could cost in the neighborhood of $2 million or more, depending on the strategies chosen, and only certain percentages of necessary funding are currently identified. Regency has offered to pay $535,000 for “Phase One” expenses, basically involving moving the Depot out of Crossroads Commons and to another, possibly temporary, location. Council could also choose Tuesday to grant Regency a rebate of the general fund portion of construction use tax on the Commons redevelopment - possibly worth $156,000 - to help with the relocation costs. But a letter dated May 16 from Regency to the city said the Depot must be moved by March 1, 2007, or “all parties” involved would reconsider the investments. Additional estimated expenses after Phase One could include moving the structure from a temporary to a permanent location ($219,500 to $690,000), land acquisition ($540,000), interior finish ($382,500) and historic restoration ($194,000). Funding options could include money from RTD, state grants, federal transportation funds, private donations or partnerships and city funding. The city has about $46,000 left over from previous Depot fundraising, any money left over from Regency's Phase One funding might be used for future projects and RTD has identified the possibility of using federal grant money - but it's not guaranteed that any of these sources will be used on the Depot. Flinchbaugh said the Depot building has suffered some water damage, in part because engineers in 1973 set up a drainage system for the Depot to work with primarily grassy surroundings at the Pow Wow grounds. He said the Depot water management system didn't integrate as well with a city drainage system installed after the area became a shopping center, and the Depot began to experience flooding as a result. He also said the building has suffered from uneven settling since 1973 due to changes in groundwater movement, but didn't want to guess how much work the Depot actually needed before being used in the Transit Village or elsewhere. “It all depends on what the city expects the interior finish to look like,” said Flinchbaugh. The agenda packet said considerations have been given to using the Depot in the Transit Village for transit-related functions or commercial use, such as a coffee shop or small retail, but no firm plans were listed. Also, it's possible that the Depot could be disassembled and/or “mothballed” in a site such as the city-owned former “egg farm” just west of 55th and Valmont Road. Peter Pollock, the city's planning director, said Friday that disassembling and mothballing might be necessary if there are major problems in financing the relocation or finding acceptable temporary or permanent sites. But Flinchbaugh hopes the Depot will spring into more immediate use, in part because the building represents a rich slice of Boulder's historical pie, and also because efforts in the 1980s and 1990s to move the Depot to Central Park or 9th and Canyon didn't come to fruition. “The Depot has always been this odd little postage stamp in the middle of a larger commercial development to some people,” said Flinchbaugh. “There's so much history there that has been lost that it's a big deal to me, if for nothing else, just because few people are really familiar with it.” - The Colorado Daily
Gonna be interesting once the depot move is started. It's the monthly meeting point for my railroad club! I remember my folks having to drive there, almost 20 years ago! One rumor is that the depot is going to be moved to the lot just of current location, where Pollak Motors is. As well as being a possible station stop for passenger train service from Longmont to Denver and point in between. Will see if I can find prior info about it, in past newsletters online.
Keith, You do realize you just volunteered to show us all some pics of not only the depot but the club layout too right?!?
Can shoot pics of depot, yes. What club layout?? No such thing!! Only HO and N Scale modular displays.
