Though quite a bit smaller than our planned railyard development, what Santa Fe has done with their old railyard, called simply, The Railyard, as reported in this article from Land and People magazine, is absolutely wonderful.
An excerpt.
“The public areas of the railyard property include the park and a connecting appendage known as the Alameda, which includes a one-acre plaza. The railyard dictated the linear nature of the site, which the design team put to good use. The sweep of the Alameda is bordered by the outdoor sheds of the seasonal farmers market and embellished at intervals with benches and tables, newly planted trees, and a round cedar water tower. The tracks of a new commuter rail line run down the center. The whole evokes railyards of the past, minus the industrial harshness and softened by adjoining narrow streets and sidewalks.” (p. 41)
