People and circumstances over the years have tried to change the gritty image of Commerce City.

There have been high-end homes on its eastern border and a world-class soccer and concert stadium not far from the city’s oil refineries, and even an attempt to wipe the city’s industrial name off of the map and replace it with the more low-key moniker of Derby.

But it may be a stop on the Regional Transportation District’s North Metro Rail Line that brings some shine to the center of the city.

RTD plans to run a $708 million electric commuter rail line from Denver Union Station through Adams County. The North Metro Rail Line will come with eight passenger stations, including one at East 72nd Avenue and Colorado Boulevard in Commerce City.

Commerce City officials have such big plans for the site that it’s been the focus of a year-long planning process that could lead to rejuvenation of the area in and around the station for years.

“I’m very optimistic about the commercial opportunities that come with transit-oriented development,” said Commerce City Mayor Sean Ford. “Once rail comes, we can develop around it, and I think it will be highly beneficial.”

Adams County as a whole has long understood commuter rail as a vital economic development tool.

“In our world, the successful communities are going to be the ones who get rail,” said Adams County Commissioner Erik Hansen, who also is chairman of the North Area Transportation Alliance.

Last year, Hansen led a chorus of critics who howled when it appeared RTD was reneging on plans to link the northern suburbs with the metrowide FasTracks system anytime soon.

“We have been planning for this for many, many years, and advocating for a number of years that RTD complete this line,” Hansen said. “It’s been a lot of hard work.

“It’s not a surprise things are coming as quickly as they are now.”

The RTD board on Tuesday night is expected to sign off on a $343 million contract with Graham, Balfour Beatty, Hamon Constructors to design and build the North Line to 124th Avenue by January 2018. RTD will finance the project using so-called certificates of participation.

The firm also proposed to build the line to East 162nd Avenue in Thornton, but RTD won’t commit until funding is available and ridership demands it.

RTD officials said they began the groundwork for the North Line as far back as 2009, including purchasing the rail right-of-way from the Union Pacific Railroad for $117 million.

“We’ve always demonstrated a commitment to the northern suburbs, and we will continue to do so with FasTracks,” RTD general manager Phil Washington said.

In the first phase of construction, North Line stations are planned in Thornton at East 88th Avenue and Welby Road and East 104th Avenue and Colorado Boulevard. Officials are hosting a public meeting from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Dec. 4 in the Clayton/Academy Project Center to gather ideas on what should emerge around the stations.

“The city (Thornton) is beginning to develop plans for these station areas by assessing existing conditions and community characteristics around both areas,” said Thornton Senior Planner Rob Larsen.

Several meetings helped spawn a Station Area Master Plan — or STAMP — for the station in Commerce City.

It calls for putting in new businesses, housing and connecting bike and pedestrian paths in an area where sidewalks are cracked, crosswalks are few and vacant homes and parcels mar the area.

Commerce City neighborhoods, including Adams City and Adams Heights, “have a pivotal opportunity to create real change that will benefit current residents, cultivate a thriving multimodal center, and strengthen their standing in the greater metropolitan region,” according to the STAMP plan.

The rail station will go along with a $166 million capital improvement program recently approved by voters, said city spokeswoman Michelle Halstead.

“For a community that was formed along rail lines to support industry,” said Halstead, “it’s only fitting that the FasTracks’ North Metro Rail Line will complement our city’s continued growth and economic development.”

Monte Whaley: 720-929-0907, mwhaley@denverpost.com or twitter.com/montewhaley