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Neighbors of the
former
University of Colorado Hospital campus
at East Ninth Avenue and Colorado Boulevard packed the
Christ Church United Methodist building to hear details
regarding the redevelopment of the site by Fuqua
Development, most notably to learn about the Wal-Mart
store proposed for the site. To serve as an anchor for
the 28-acre site, which is to include shops, a dozen
restaurants, two junior department stores, specialty
stores and a natural grocery, the 119,000 SF Wal-Mart
store would be unique in that it would be two stories
and offer underground parking and an upscale design.
While opposition to the inclusion of Wal-mart in the
redevelopment was widely expressed by the attendants,
Jeff Fuqua of Fuqua Development responded that the
project could not proceed without it, and noted that Wal-mart
was the only candidate that expressed a willingness to
work within the constraints and increased costs of the
redevelopment.
Denver City Council Member Jeanne Robb reports some
background.
In June
2003, the state legislature passed a law requiring CU to
sell the 9th Avenue campus. After an extended selection
process, Shea properties was selected to develop the
site and contracted to purchase the site in 2006. Shea
ended its contract and redevelopment efforts in February
of 2011. Sembler, now Fuqua Development, contracted to
buy the site in April of 2011.
The zoning for the site is in place, including large
format or "big box" retail. If there were no need for
tax increment financing (rebate of sales tax dollars for
demolition, clean-up and extension of the street grid
through the site), there would be no need for City
Council approval. The General Development Plan was
amended to reflect the Fuqua site development by the
Planning Board and was strongly supported by the
Colorado Boulevard Health Care District.
The Fuqua proposal contains nearly 300,000 sq. ft of
retail development and 330 apartments; the Shea proposal
contained about 750,000 sq. ft. of retail, office and
hotel development and up to 1,400 residential units. The
former hospital occupied more space than either of these
proposals and had 10,000 employees and no requirements
for parking. Thus parking and traffic impact under the
current proposal should not be as great as when the
Health Sciences Center was operating fully.
The proposed Fuqua redevelopment will also include more
retailers (clothing, home goods, grocery, and
restaurants), preservation of the nurse's dorm and the
open space of the quad as well as 330 apartments to be
developed by Alliance Residential, which is currently
developing in Cherry Creek East.
Council Member Robb notes that,
"A handful
of Walmart shoppers in my district have informed me the
use would be OK; a handful of folks have said they don't
like the proposal but could live with it in preference
to a vacant site. But many say they don't shop at
Walmart often if at all and don't like the
merchandising. I've also heard much opposition to
Walmart's corporate practices (which Walmart says are
changing) and to Walmart's negative economic impacts
(though conflicting studies exist). Developer Jeff Fuqua
states that Walmart is the only tenant available to fill
the big box. To supply enough TIF, the development
needs a high volume retailer. CU states that they spend
$500,000 to $700,000 a year maintaining the site and
cannot continue that level of maintenance without a
purchase contract in hand.
As a community we have a tough decision - Walmart or a
vacant, minimally maintained site for the foreseeable
future. Is it better to get the street grid and
landscaping in place and save the nurse's dorm and older
trees in the quad with a Walmart or is it better to wait
for a development that is more desirable to the
community and more sustainable, probably denser?
Councilwoman Susman and I have expressed your concerns
to the Mayor and will continue to work with the
administration on the long shot that another retailer
could fill the place of Walmart. And we will continue to
work with the Health Care District reps to make this
very difficult decision. The next Health Care District
meeting is scheduled for Thursday, August 2 at National
Jewish, Molly Blank Room."
The Federal Transit Administration announced recently an
award of a $7.9 million grant from its Bus and Bus
Facilities Livability Initiative to RTD, the Downtown
Denver Partnership and the City of Denver to help
reconstruct the
16th
Street Mall. The funds will be used to
improve mall shuttles, procure new buses and complete
critical maintenance on the 16th Street Mall. The grant
funds are especially important because some facets of
the 16th Street Mall have neared the end of their design
lifespan. In February the DDP hosted U.S. Department of
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood in a meeting that
included discussion of the project. RTD, DDP and the
City of Denver jointly submitted the grant application
in March. RTD District A Director Bill James co-chairs
the DDP's 16th Street Plan Steering Committee with
representatives from the DDP and the city. Since 2008
the committee has developed a plan for renovation of the
16th Street Mall with a layout essentially as is. A
"pilot" renovation project of mall pavers in the block
between Tremont Place and Court Place has been completed
to test various methods of such renovation. Renovation
of the entire mall will cost in excess of $50 million.
These funds will in-part contribute to that renovation.
If you, or someone you know is interested in transit or
transit oriented real estate development, consider the
Citizen's Academy of the Transit Alliance.
Transit Alliance is a coalition of diverse groups of
businesses, governments and membership organizations
that advocates transit. Metro Denver is emerging as THE
laboratory for revitalizing communities through the
development of a multi-modal transportation
infrastructure. The Academy assembles a maximum of 60
potential leaders at weekly meetings over 7 weeks to
learn about the linkages between transportation,
community development and sustainability with a variety
of speakers from development, public health, government
and RTD. The cornerstone of this unique program is that
participants put their knowledge into action. Each
session is very interactive and participants design and
implement an individual action plan. Participants are
selected on the basis of leadership ability and
commitment to transportation, community development,
healthy living and quality of life. More at:
http://www.transitalliance.org/default.htm
The Uptown neighborhood recently became the site of
construction for a
new
apartment complex by RedPeak
Properties. To be built over an 18-month period, the
one city block development will total 302 units in four
separate buildings in the area between
East 18th
and 19th Avenues and Logan and Pennsylvania Streets
that are to each have their own design. To have an
average size of 685 SF, the Silver LEED development will
also offer a swimming pool and spa, a turf field where
you can play volleyball, a firepit, and a rooftop deck.
Located on the former site of the Machebeuf High School
gymnasium, it is within four blocks of downtown and the
new St. Joseph hospital, and will also benefit from its
access to Benedict Park and the retail and restaurants
already in the area. Parking for the development is to
be provided via a 2-story podium parking garage and
retail totaling 9,500 SF is to be included on the ground
floor.
Three projects planned by the city of Glendale and local
property owners will be completed over the next 18
months. The owner of the
Cherry
Creek Corporate Center at 4500 Cherry
Creek Drive South will be constructing a new four-story
parking structure just south of the building, primarily
to address the loss of parking for tenants described
below. Construction is has started and is scheduled to
be completed by January 2013.
Glendale's Master Development Plan has long anticipated
the
extension
of South Birch Street just east of Home
Depot north to connect with Cherry Creek Drive South.
The concept is to connect the Infinity Park Rugby
Stadium to the Cherry Creek bike path. During business
hours, the "street" will be a pedestrian walkway. After
business hours, the barriers will be withdrawn and
vehicles will be allowed to use the city street.
Construction is scheduled to begin September and be
completed by December. These projects are part of the
Glendale River Walk Master Plan at:
http://www.glendaleriverwalk.com/pdf/masterplan/GlendaleRiverWalk_MasterPlan.pdf
http://www.glendaleriverwalk.com/why-a-riverwalk.html
The owner of Cherry Creek Corporate Center has
reportedly sold the southeast corner of the office
parking lot to a developer who will construct
350
apartment units and a parking structure
primarily for apartment occupants. Construction of the
apartments and parking is scheduled to begin February
2013, and be completed December2013.
The construction currently underway just east of the
Hilton Garden Hotel is known as the
City Set
project, including a large underground parking
structure, ground-level retail shops and restaurants,
and an extended stay Residence Inn by Marriott hotel.
The hotel, restaurants and shops are scheduled to open
January 2013.
Council Member Robb also reports that Denver Public
Works will be rehabilitating the
sharrows
on the D-11 bike route
along
Franklin Street from 21st Avenue into Cheesman Park.
The bicycle markings will be brought up to the current
standard and consistent with other sharrow markings
around the city. In addition, Public Works will also be
completing a missing link along 12th Avenue on the D-10
bicycle route. Sharrows will be added to connect the
existing bike lanes at Elizabeth to Cheesman Park, as
well as through Cheesman Park on the northern section of
the park road.
Sharrow is an abbreviated term for a shared lane arrow.
Although motorists and cyclists are always expected to
share public roadways, sharrows are a pavement marking
symbol for use on select designated on-street bike
routes. The sharrow assists with bicyclist positioning
in the shared lane, serves for bicycle route wayfinding,
reduces the incidence of wrong-way bike riding, provides
a visual alert to road users, and encourages safe
passing practices.
The East Colfax Transit Project (Alternatives
Analysis/Environmental Assessment), is now being called
"Colfax Corridor Connections." The
project received notice to proceed in June and is
anticipated to be completed in November 2013. The first
round of public meetings will probably occur in
September 2012. Two contracts compose this $3 million
project: one for testing DRCOG's new travel demand model
(the FOCUS model) and one for the Alternatives
Analysis/Environmental Assessment. Consultants are:
Alternatives Analysis/Environmental Assessment - Steer
Davies Gleave (SDG)
Travel Model Assessment/Testing - AECOM/Cambridge
Systematics
More at:
http://uptownonthehill.com/index.php/2012/06/east-colfax-transit-alternatives-analysis-important-to-uptown/
http://www.denvergov.org/sirepub/cache/2/v3jhsyzsjhtwjtxh1nctdn13/21056907222012043752602.PDF
http://la.steerdaviesgleave.com/news-and-insights/SDG-leading-study-on-transit-improvements-on-Denvers-East-Colfax-corridor
The
Colfax
Mainstreet Coalition is one of twenty
community organizations receiving grants in the EPA's
Brownfields Program "Denver, Lakewood, and the Denver
Urban Renewal Authority are taking a strategic approach
to reviving blighted properties and creating new
opportunities for investment and job creation along the
Colfax Avenue corridor," said EPA Regional
Administrator, Jim Martin. The Colfax Mainstreet
Coalition is one of only eight groups across the country
that received at least $900,000 in funding. In all, the
EPA awarded $69.3 million in grants nationwide for new
investments to provide communities with funding
necessary to clean and redevelop contaminated
properties, boost local economies and create jobs while
protecting public health.
"These funds will help secure cleaner, healthier
neighborhoods by improving the environment and restoring
dozens of properties to productive reuse." The program
empowers states, communities, and other stakeholders to
work together to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and
sustainably reuse brownfields. A brownfield site is real
property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of
which may be complicated by the presence or potential
presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or
contaminant.
The grant will be used to assess contamination of "brownfields"
properties along 15 miles of Colfax from Yosemite Street
on the east in Denver to Indiana Street on the west in
Lakewood. These environmental assessments will help
determine the nature and extent of potential
contamination at sites, identify specific cleanup needs,
and restore properties to beneficial reuse. Examples of
potential brownfields targeted by this effort include
former gas stations and dry cleaners.
"This grant will build upon the public investment
already occurring within the Colfax corridor," says Doug
Linkhart, Manager of Denver Environmental Health. "By
integrating sustainable development that includes new
high-density, mixed-use mainstreet zoning, we're moving
closer to achieving our ultimate goal of improving the
environment and public health."
The EPA awards millions of dollars every year to assess
and clean up abandoned industrial and commercial
properties. With more than 50 years of experience in
urban renewal projects and brownfield assessments, DURA
led the charge in forming the Colfax Mainstreet
Coalition with the City of Denver Department of
Environmental Health, Denver Office of Economic
Development and the City of Lakewood Environmental
Services. The Coalition then acquired the Colorado
Division of Oil and Public Safety and Colorado
Department of Public Health and Environment as strategic
partners and applied for the federal grant in 2011.
"When assessing an iconic, regional corridor like Colfax
Avenue, one that stretches from the eastern plains to
the Rocky Mountains, it takes a coordinated effort at
the federal, state, city and community level. Without
the strong support of the groups in this audience, we
would not have this very important piece of funding to
catalyze redevelopment and revitalize the Colfax
corridor," said Tracy Huggins, executive director of
DURA.
The $900,000 grant, which will be used for site
assessment and remediation planning efforts, includes a
three-year project period, and the Coalition will begin
utilizing the funds immediately by engaging the
community and identifying potential brownfield sites to
study in the coming months.
According to the Washington Park Profile at:
http://washingtonparkprofile.com/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1
the seven-block stretch of
Pearl
Street from Buchtel Blvd. to Jewell Ave.
is on the verge of becoming one of the region's most
sought-after restaurant rows. At a recent meeting of the
South Pearl Street Merchants Association,
representatives of Sushi Den, Wynkoop
Brewing/Breckenridge Brewery and the Tavern Hospitality
Group (THG) detailed plans for three major new
restaurants coming to the 1400 and 1500 blocks.
At the end of 2011, Toshi and Yasu Kizaki, owners of
Sushi Den, 1487 S. Pearl St. and Izakaya Den, 1518 S.
Pearl St. worked a deal to trade the Izakaya Den site to
BW Holdings LLC (owners of Breckenridge and Wynkoop
Brewery) in exchange for BWH's property at 1477 S. Pearl
St., that had, until Dec. 31 of last year, been the
well-loved home of Pearl Street Grill. In mid-June,
crews demolished the PSG building to make way for a
14,000-square-foot, two-story structure with a second
floor patio overlooking Pearl St., that will become the
new home of Izakaya Den (could be a name change) in
March 2013.
When the new building is finished and Izakaya Den moves
across the corner, BW Holdings will take over at 1518 S.
Pearl St., with plans to redo the interior to give it a
new feel and flavor, opening a new restaurant that will
not be named Pearl Street Grill and for which a concept
has not been finalized, according to BW spokesperson Lee
Driscoll.
THG is under contract to purchase Dave and Wendy
Phillips' building at 1475 S. Pearl St. - the former
home of India's Pearl - if the city's Department of
Excise and Licenses deems that renovation plans do not
hinder transfer of the liquor license for the property.
THG co-owner Frank Schulz explained that his company
plans a major transformation of the existing structure.
A two-story addition will be added to the alley side of
the building - eliminating the existing outdoor patio -
and a new kitchen will be built in the basement. The
front of the building will be "opened up" to accommodate
patios fronting on S. Pearl St. on both the first and
second floors.
All three ownership groups stated their intention to
work together to solve parking issues that might arise.
Sushi Den, Izakaya Den, and whatever BW comes up with
will all share the lot adjacent to 1518 S. Pearl St. In
addition, Sushi Den has purchased the old Murder by the
Book property at 1574 S. Pearl St., and will use the
back of the property for valet parking (12 spaces). THG
has contracted for additional properties in the area for
employee and valet parking, and overtures have been made
to Grant Beacon Middle School, 1751 S. Washington St.,
for local restaurants to make use of their faculty
parking lot after school hours. Stay tuned.
Denver City Council Member Mary Beth Susman suggests
that you join your neighbors in saving the
Sundial
Plaza at Cranmer Park. The plaza was
first constructed in 1941 and is in desperate need of
restoration including reconstruction of the terrazzo
panorama and the flagstone foundation supporting the
sundial. In response to this urgent call to action,
community members, businesses, and government officials
came together last year to launch the Save the Sundial
campaign to support fundraising efforts for Cranmer
Park. More than $550,000 of the $1.4 million needed to
complete the project has been committed to-date by Parks
and Rec and community members. You will see two new
signs posted at the park highlighting this community
effort. More at:
www.denvergov.org/donatetoparksandrec
The Regional Transportation District staff recommended
to the RTD Board of Directors on July 3 to move forward
with a proposal from Kiewit Infrastructure Co. to
complete the
I-225
Light Rail Line all the way to Peoria
Street. The proposal also commits to completing
construction of the line by November 2015, around the
same general timeframe as completion of the East Rail
Line from Union Station to DIA. The Kiewit team also
includes Mass. Electric Construction Co., AECOM, and RBC
Capital Markets.
Highlights of the Kiewit proposal and the proposal
submitted by Balfour Beatty Ames Joint Venture were
shared with the RTD board, which will hear public
comment on the recommendation before making a final
decision on Tuesday July 24th. The public will have an
opportunity to provide input at a special RTD Board
meeting Tuesday night. "We had two very sound proposals,
but all things considered, the Kiewit proposal provides
the better value and allows us to complete another
FasTracks project," said RTD General Manager Phil
Washington. "The connectivity between major employment
and medical centers and DIA will benefit the entire
region."
Completion of the I-225 Rail Line through Aurora to the
East Rail Line at Smith and Peoria will connect major
destinations like the Aurora City Center, the Anschutz/Fitzsimons
Medical Campus and Denver International Airport. In
March, Kiewit approached RTD with an unsolicited
proposal. After reviewing the initial proposal, RTD
staff determined it was consistent with the agency's
Unsolicited Proposals Policy and worthy of moving
forward to a competitive procurement process. On June
14, RTD received two competitive proposals for the I-225
Light Rail project - one from Kiewit Infrastructure Co.
another from Balfour Beatty Ames Joint Venture.
Over the past year, RTD has publicized the agency's
desire to seek out innovations to complete the FasTracks
program as soon as possible, enhance the RTD customer
experience and reduce the cost of RTD operations. This
was the premise behind RTD's first industry forum called
"Transformation Through Transportation," which was held
Sept. 27. Construction on the first segment of the I-225
line from Parker Road to Iliff began in May under a
contract with the Colorado Dept. of Transportation as
CDOT constructs highway improvements in that area.
DPC Development Co., in partnership with the ROC fund,
has purchased the
Logan
Tower office building at 1580 Logan
Street in Denver via in-house agents Nate Schnable and
Justin Lutgen. Sold by Logan Tower Partnership LLP via
Garrette Matlock of Marcus and Millichap, the 69,784 SF
building was exchanged for $5.85 million, or $84/SF.
A 65,000 SF industrial building in Denver was the recent
focus of an exchange between buyer Bahman Shafa and
seller Student Movers Inc. Located at
2424
Delgany Street, the property was sold
via NAI Shames Makovsky agents Evan Makovsky and Byron
Johnson for $2.4 million, or $37/SF. In-house
representation was used by buyer Spectrum Real Estate
Group Inc. and seller Johnson Capital Group of Colorado
in their exchange of a 2-acre site in the East Hampden
submarket. Located at 6383 East Girard Avenue in
Denver, Spectrum purchased the property for $2.14
million, or $25/SF and intends to place a 79,000 SF,
99-bed assisted living facility on the site.
The location of
I-25 and
Hampden has been chosen by Spectrum
Retirement for a
new
retirement residential complex. To be
part of the Highpointe development, the 90-unit
community at 6383 East Girard Place is to offer studio
to 1,000 SF apartment homes up to 2 bedrooms in size,
with options to include Assisted Living and Memory Care
apartments when it is completed in mid-2013. The
complex is to also offer state-of-the-art amenities,
dining and signature programs, plus access to retail,
medical facilities and local residential neighborhoods.
The
Wellshire
Arms apartments in Denver were recently
sold via Terrance Hunt, Shane Ozment, and Andy Hellman
of Apartment Realty Advisors. Totaling 105 units at
2499 South Colorado Boulevard, the property was
exchanged between seller Wellshire Arms Company LLLP and
buyer, a British Columbia-base private multifamily
investment firm, for $12.5 million, or $119,000/unit.
A 1-acre site recently sold to Medici Communities along
the Southwest light rail corridor is to become the
location of a new low-income transit-oriented housing
development. To serve households who fall with 30% to
60% of the area median income, the
Evans
Station Lofts in the Overland Park
neighborhood is to open in spring 2013 and will offer 50
units and include 7,100 SF of commercial/retail space.
The seller, Urban Land Conservancy, sold the property
for $1.15 million, or $26/SF.
A price of $4.43 million, or $35/SF, was garnered by LNR
Property LLC in the sale of the
One and
Two Monaco Park office buildings to
Boxer Property. Sold via Transwestern agents Brad Cohen
and Larry Thiel, the 128,471 SF property is located at
6795 and 6825 East Tennessee Avenue in Denver.
The 197-unit
Courtyard
at Cherry Creek apartment complex has
been exchanged for $14.3 million, or $72,600/unit.
Located at 5100 Leetsdale Drive in Denver, 5100
Leetsdale LLC purchased the property from R-Investments
via Jeff Johnson of Pinnacle Real Estate Advisors.
Pinnacle also represented the seller via Josh Newell.
The Praedium Group LLC jointly purchased the 384-unit
Santana Ridge Apartments in Aurora and
the 158-unit Deerfield Apartments in Denver for $47.5
million, or $87,600/unit. Respectively located at 1355
South Galena Street and 1771 South Quebec Way, the
properties were acquired from Redhill Realty Investors
LP and BlackRock Realty Advisors via self-representation
by all parties.
A price of $3.13 million, or $55,900/unit, was paid by
BDP Holdings LLC to Florida Pointe Community LLC for the
Florida Pointe apartments in Aurora.
Totaling 56 units at 9900 East Florida Avenue, the
transaction was negotiated for both sides by Unique
Properties LLC-TCN agents Ryan Floyd, Kevin Higgins,
Jason Koch, Marc Lippitt, Adam Riddle and Scott Shwayder.
According to Inside Real Estate News at:
http://insiderealestatenews.com/2012/07/richthofen-castle-sells/
The historic 14,938 SF
Richtofen
Castle, sold for $3.49 million,
according to public records, making it the most
expensive home to sell in the Denver area in June. In
2010, the stone fortress at 7020 East 12th Ave. in the
Montclair neighborhood, was listed for $3.9 million. The
35-room estate - eight bedrooms and seven bathrooms -
was built in 1887 by Walter von Richthofen, uncle of the
famous World War I fighter pilot known as the "Red
Baron." The home was designed by architects Jules
Jacques Benedict and Maurice Bixco.
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