Developer's dream: Doug Jones pushes for DIA-to-Downtown train.

• Author: Titus, Stephen
• Position: Denver International Airport

Doug Jones sits behind a dark oak in his 17th Street office surrounded by photos of himself with politicians, clergy and memorabilia from 22 years of plying the commercial real-estate trade in Colorado. [paragraph] To one side is a picture of him shaking hands with Ronald Reagan. On the other side is a shot of him shaking hands with George W. Bush. Jones, a former Texan, is treasurer of the Colorado Republican Party and over the years he has become acquainted with the Bush family. [paragraph] In counterpoint, on a shelf near the floor are photos of Bill and Hillary Clinton, both with forged autographs and strangely friendly notes scribbled on them. Hillary's photo is also decorated with a mustache and a pointy beard.

JONES' LACK OF POLITICAL AMBIGUITY REFLECTS HIS direct style of doing business, and at 48 he is a huge success by anyone's standard. In addition to his solid real estate career he also is president of the Denver Botanic Gardens board of directors, serves on the Colorado Tourism Board and has been a member of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce for more than 10 years, serving as its chairman in 1999-2000.

But Jones' biggest professional challenge is still before him. So far, he has struggled with it for eight years.

He hopes to convince the city to let him build and operate a high-speed train from Union Station to Denver International Airport, charge $11 per ticket, and finance the project with $700 million in privately issued revenue bonds.

"Some would call it a character flaw that I would pursue it that long," he says. "I hope I can make some money off of it, but I also think it's the best thing that could happen for downtown, the airport and the Gateway Center." Gateway Center is the land around the entrance to DIA that can be developed commercially.

The city agrees -- in principal -- that the Air Train is a good idea, and officials say it is high on the current mayor's list of priorities. But who builds it, operates it and, most importantly, pays for it are still hot topics. Liz Orr, director of the Mayor's Office of Projects, points out that Jones' proposal has never been tried before, and that fiscally conservative city administrations in Denver have never been an easy sell for unproven, Jurassic Park-sized projects.

"We in Denver like to be second in major risky innovations, not first," Orr says.

Jones coughs a small exclamation of dismay at such statements. Being first to do something, he says, is "even more of a reason...