RTD-LRT Elati Light Rail Maintenance Facility
Designed for the maintenance capacity of more than 100 light rail vehicles, the Elati Facility balances functionality with beautiful architecture.
Client
Regional Transportation District, Denver, Colorado
Project Size
125,000 sf
22 acres
Awards
Excellence in Construction Award - Associated Builders & Contractors (ABC) - Rocky Mountain Chapter
Building Team of the Year Grand Award - Building Design & Construction Magazine
Professional Services
Architecture
Interior Design
Master Planning
The Elati Light Rail Maintenance Facility is a state-of-the-art project which set the bar for transit facilities of its kind nationwide. It is designed with the capacity to support the maintenance needs of more than 100 light rail vehicles. It is a combination of administration, operations, maintenance, and repair space that includes 16 light rail vehicle repair and preventative maintenance bays, recessed maintenance pits, a wheel truing pit, parts storage, AC repair, administrative office space, lunch rooms, locker/shower rooms, crew shops, maintenance of way, and facilities maintenance.
The architecture features a curved, vaulted standing seam metal roof over the entire facility with a sweeping glass-enclosed entry feature. The one-story administration and operations space consists of brick and stone masonry, which creates a human scale at the main employee and visitor entries, as well as along the street edge because of its adjacency to an existing neighborhood. The maintenance area is designed with a combination of brick and stone masonry, insulated metal wall panels, and translucent wall panels. The use of the translucent wall panels allows natural daylight into the maintenance areas to enhance the work environment for the mechanics, and to reduce the operating costs of artificial lighting.
In 2010, RNL designed additional space and modifications to this award-winning facility the firm originally designed and which was completed in 2004. The expansion includes a 5,100 square foot wash bay addition to the existing building, full build out of mezzanine work platforms, increasing storage capacity in the existing parts room and installing an automated storage system, and acoustical modifications to the existing reception area.
Meet the team
Merlin
Maley
Western Region Transit Director
Driven by a deep interest in creating more sustainable communities through improved mobility, Merlin Maley has dedicated more than a decade of his career to the transportation and public sector industry. Through his transit systems work, Merlin is helping to create 21st century cities and communities while decreasing the dependence on single-occupancy vehicles for mobility.
Related Projects
