Yards, rails and spurs: As the National Western opens, complexs $1B renovation is a step closer to reality – The Denver Post

As the hurly-burly of the annual National Western Stock Show kicks off, the vision of turning the site of one of the countrys premier agricultural events into a year-round education and entertainment attraction is starting to take hold.

The 114th edition of the stock show, horse show and rodeo, which begins its 16-day run Saturday, brings with it the usual excitement of hundreds of thousands of visitors from across the country and the world. For those whove been planning and working on the transformation of the show grounds in north Denver, theres also the excitement of seeing the early stages of what ultimately will be a more than $1 billion development.

During the stock show, the construction will slow down to accommodate the horse shows, livestock auctions, rodeo performances and all the eating, shopping and the business deals that take place outside in the yards.

Its in the yards where people, especially longtime stock show attendees, will see visible signs of the big changes ahead.

Construction really started almost two-and-a-half years ago. It just takes a while for all that infrastructure to get in, said Paul Andrews, CEO and president of the National Western Stock Show.

Hyoung Chang, The Denver Post

Standing on an outside landing a few days before the show started, Andrews pointed toward the yards, where pens after pens of cattle would soon be on display. Some of the older, wooden structures have been replaced by new pens and shifted toward the north. By 2021, Andrews said most of the pens will have been replaced.

By 2022, all the yards will be completely done and shifted to the north by about 200 yards, Andrews added.

The new pens wont be permanent structures like the current ones. Work on the yards is part of the first two phases of construction, which together make up the first major part of the project.

The first portion is expected to be completed by the end of 2024, said Tykus Holloway, executive director of the Mayors Office of the National Western Center. The office is overseeing the planning, design and construction to expand the existing 110-acre site to 250 acres.

Other facilities planned in the first part of construction include a stockyards event center; a livestock center; an equestrian center; the National Western Stock Shows Legacy Building, which will include offices and a heritage center; and three buildings belonging to Colorado State University, a complex dubbed Spur.

Other features will include 6 acres of open space along the South Platte River. Holloway said work has begun on relocating part of the railroad lines that currently bisect the campus. The lines are being moved to the east, which opens up the space along the river.

The next big part of the project will include whats called The Triangle, on the southeast side of the complex. The current exposition hall, horse arena, and the historic Stadium Arena, built in 1909, are in that portion. Holloway said a draft request for proposals has been written for the work, which will include a new exposition hall, restoration of the Stadium Arena and a new, 10,000-seat arena for different kinds of events.

A timeline for completion of that portion of the project hasnt been set.

The major source of the funding for building out the National Western Center campus is revenue from a 2015 voter-approved extension of taxes on rental cars and lodging and a tourism grant. Legislators approved $200 million in state funding for CSUs buildings.

And the National Western Stock Show is contributing its 90 acres of land and another $63 million it raised. The stock show will pay for its new building, estimated at $50 million to $60 million.

Holloways agency, the stock show association and the National Western Center Authority, which will run the site year-round, are following the principles and direction detailed in the National Western Center Master Plan. The 2015 document was put together with input from the surrounding community, city and CSU officials said.

Provided by the Mayor's Office of the National Western Center

Year-round activities, a mix of community uses and visitors. The tourists coming into town to the various activities a mix and a balance of community uses and activities throughout the campus, said Holloway. That master plan is our guide.

Brad Buchanan, the National Western Authority CEO, said the nonprofit is guided by a 13-member board that includes representation from the surrounding neighborhoods of Globeville, Elyria and Swansea.

Since the beginning and the creation of the National Western Center Master Plan, there was a group formed called the citizens advisory committee, Buchanan said. It has been around for five years, and it is a very robust, active group.

There have also been literally hundreds of community meetings, Buchanan added. The National Western Center will be a year-round destination, he said, offering entertainment and education activities in partnership with CSU, the Colorado Museum of Nature and Science and others.

One of the biggest efforts is that the campus will be home to a public market that will be a retail location for Colorado foods and produce and meat, local arts and crafts, all things Colorado, Buchanan said.Well be doing a lot of programs and events in the different facilities, from the stock yard event center to the livestock hall to the new 10,000-seat arena.

The pop-up fresh produce markets, concerts, agriculture symposiums and the TED-talk-like events that Buchanan envisions taking place in the not-too-distant future will likely be among some of the activities hosted by CSU. The university system plans to break ground in April on three buildings dedicated to the following areas: animal and human health; water; food and agriculture.

We hired three different teams of architects to design each of the three buildings. We wanted each one to really stand alone in its uniqueness and really speak to the activities that are happening in the buildings, said Amy Parsons, executive vice chancellor of the CSU System.

The face of the building that will house faculty, students and private partners working on water research and projects is intended to look like the eddy of a river and evoke feelings of water flowing up and around, Parsons said.

Landscaping in the backyard will replicate Colorados watersheds. The building focused on food will feature an agriculture exploratorium in a multi-story, glassed-in area where people can see things growing and watch high-tech agriculture at work.

Students and people of all ages will be able to come in and understand something about where their food comes from and what agriculture means today, Parsons said.

The Denver Dumb Friends League plans to locate a clinic in CSUs animal health building. The clinic will offer reduced rates to people who live in the neighborhood, Parsons said. The building will include housing for CSU students working temporary stints and Future Farmers of America members attending the stock show.

The three CSU buildings will be branded Spur, which has a lot of different meanings, Parsons said.

When you think of spur you might think of Western imagery. You might also think of a rail spur. Were literally on a railroad spur where were building, Parsons said. And the history of rail spurs is an important part of this area of the city.

The railroad was a driver behind the development and growth of the Globeville area, settled in the late 1880s.

The Spur name and logo incorporate one of CSUs original colors, pumpkin, when the college in Fort Collins was primarily an agriculture school. Parsons said the staff is also using the brand to convey innovation and progress, as in spurring action.

Hyoung Chang, The Denver Post

I would say one theme that runs through all the buildings is that they are built for the public. One of the challenges I think that we have being a university is that the public might assume that theyre not welcome in our buildings, Parsons said. Were building this for the purpose of being highly visible and having the general public in.

The university has a long history with the stock show. The school, around for 150 years, has participated in the event since it started in 1906. The stock show was so important to CSU that the school would cancel classes so people could go, Parsons said. College deans would even lend students money so they could take the train to Denver.

A key goal for all involved in the National Western project is to expand the campus in an environmentally sustainable way. All the entities are looking to tap renewable energy sources.

Were working on the solar side to store some of the power so that during natural disasters or major storm events, we could be a refuge for community members as well as for livestock, Holloway said.

The buildings will be constructed with the goal of achieving LEED certification, given for energy efficiency and conservation measures. And the city and authority are close to solidifying plans to tap the thermal energy from two, 6-foot-diameter sewer pipelines along the river to heat and cool a big part of the campus.

It has been done in Europe and Canada, Buchanan said.

But the city and authority arent aware of a similar project of the scale the National Western is contemplating being done in this country.

Read the original:
Yards, rails and spurs: As the National Western opens, complexs $1B renovation is a step closer to reality - The Denver Post