The short-term projects can enliven the station, plaza and surrounding area while the longer-term development projects are underway, according to the report. New York City-based nonprofit group Project for Public Spaces Inc. developed the report with help from another consulting company, Civic Results.

PPS held a public workshop in the spring to elicit ideas that will result in a "vibrant and attractive new public space" that also supports the practical functions of the transportation facility and planned development as laid out in the Denver Union Station Master Plan.

"This report will not only help local neighbors begin to take immediate action to make the plaza space more a part of the neighborhood but also to help define what we want it to become as Union Station is the hub of our future regional transit system," says Friends of Union Station spokeswoman Dana Crawford. Crawford is a long-time urban developer and preservationist in Denver.

Funding for this workshop and report came from Friends of Union Station, East West Partners, the Regional Transportation District, the City and County of Denver, Bonfils Stanton Foundation, Gill Foundation, the Landmark Preservation Commission, and Wells Fargo.