Colorado Boulevard Healthcare District

July 11, 2013

  Minutes Correction

“The parking garage on the 23 acre campus is closed due to an abatement procedure.”

Amended to: “The parking garage on the 23 acre campus is closed while abatement proceeds in an adjacent building as power has to be shut off in both locations during this process.”

Approved as amended

 Agenda Additions

·         Brad Zieg’s request for inclusion

·         mailing list update

 University of Colorado Update

Steve Zweck-Bronner, attorney for University of Colorado Anschutz Campus sent an announcement that the University is setting up a process to evaluate interest in the property. They are working on the evaluation mechanism to establish guidelines for whether companies are able to develop the site. The University has been receiving a lot of inquiries about the site. The preference remains for there to be a single buyer, but there are no set restrictions. Steve is willing to come back at a future meeting discuss the guidelines and expectations of the University regarding potential site developers.

 Related Notes:

Councilwoman Robb mentioned that the Mayor’s Office is interested in being involved with the redevelopment of the site.

DURA Public Hearing: Monday, July 22 at 5:30 at the City Council meeting regarding the urban renewal plan for the entire site, but TIF component is only for residential component.

 Tina Axelrad: entitlements on the property which regulate the mix of uses are in place. These include the GDP and zoning. These envision a mix of uses which do not preclude large format retail. The only constraint to size (other than height) is whether the size fits into block layout, sufficient parking, and open space requirements.

 Housing Presentation

Doug McKinnon, Principle of Lionstone Group

Lionstone formed 12 years ago private real estate investment firm; he and his partners all started with Gerald Hines Interest. Their previous projects include Gates East Campus and the Janus Investment Building (management).

 

On June 14, they acquired 6.75 acres to develop the residential component at 8th & Clermont. Aspects of the project include:

• Extending Bellaire from 8th to 9th; will shift around Nurses’ Dormitory
• Property is zoned for multi-use; they believe the highest and best use is for a residential component on this property
• Demolition:
  • Property includes power plant, cooling towers, JFK building, psychiatric hospital, and the childhood development center. These buildings will be taken down after doing abatement (asbestos, particular around cooling towers).
  • Property has been fenced to control access (safety issues)
  • Lionstone has applied for Voluntary Cleanup Application. They did find some gasoline by-products from old gas station at the JFK building site, and they will make sure that all tests are passed for planned use
• Site Activity
  • The demolition contractor will be staging equipment in parking lot, and demolition will be moving east to west, finishing at the power plant.
  • Demolition should be taking place this summer and fall; expect to be done by Halloween
  • After the demolition is complete, there will be some further environmental tests to ensure that the site passes for the intended use.

 

Lionstone does have an interest in two additional buildings across Bellaire behind the Nurses’ Dorm to grade level. They have also expressed an interest in obtaining the rest of the property on the site, and are considering the possible reuse of some of the other buildings.

 

Andy Clay, Managing Partner, Alliance Residential

Alliance Residential has worked in 5 multifamily property developments throughout Denver. All of these projects have been very successful despite the challenges of building during a recession. Their properties include:

• 2101 Market
• 2120 Blake St
• Cherry Creek East, Jackson & Alameda

 

Review of site plan, which was approved in March 2012

• 55-foot height limit along 8^th, and then steps up toward 9th
• 325 units planned (down from 400)
• Focused attention on New Avenue
  • built public plazas along Bellaire; propose to close to traffic and make it a public space
• Units along internal street will have street access like brownstones
• Will be adding a lot of trees, landscaping, public art (maybe?); adding some landscaping around parking garage
• Building Specifications
  • Alliance will be building to the bronze rating of the National Association of Home Builders green building standards.
  • Buildings will be 4 stories (with elevators), all rental units and will include a pool courtyard and a garden courtyard
  • $1500-$1700/month in rent
  • Expected demographics include emerging families and empty nesters
  • 325 units; 900 SF average; mix 55% 1BR, 40% 2BR, and have some (5%) 3 BR; usually 1 bath per BR
• Parking Garage
  • The garage will get a new façade to make it look more attractive and to help it blend into the new construction.
  • Access will be on Clermont near New Ave access and from access road

 

Robert Miller, Studio PVA architect

Studio PVA has done several projects around Denver, Belmar, Denver Tech Center, including the Alta City House, Riverfront 

 

Questions:

• access to garage will be via catwalks on higher levels; will have a pedestrian access via public plaza
• have strong confidence in property despite the vacant properties nearby; work with preferred employers (like Rose) to bring in tenants
• timeline: construction will start in early 2014 (need to have all the site prep by Lionstone to be done); will take about 24 months to complete the entire process; will have some construction traffic, but won’t be doing very much excavation, which helps; can have them come back and go over the details at a later date
• density: balancing fact that they are deeper in the development closer to residential community and the livability of the project; wanted to keep it within reason of what is already in existence south of 8th and the SF homes
• will follow design guidelines that were previously developed; they did pull from existing development, such as what is found in Cherry Creek; designed to create a walkable and active street presence
• ownership: Alliance usually the managing partner; Lionstone Group has indicated that they intend to be long-term owners
• retail: none planned for first level; leasing office on 9th; have the more commercial presence on 9th & Bellaire
• use of garage: possibility of storage; will likely have a mix of uses, but primarily residential use; will have just over 1000 spaces (will be reduced as they bring up to code and add other use); 8th Ave entrance will be right in, right out
• will have on-street parking on Bellaire and one side of Clermont will have on-street parking;
• improvements to 8th Avenue: have been several negotiations through the GDP, but will need to have additional discussions on this topic
• grade: significant differences throughout site; does play into how buildings are broken up and distributed; will have tree lawns throughout development, plus sidewalks
• every building will have disability-accessibility entries; will be reviewed by 3rd party
• expect to start opening in early 2015; units will be delivered in phases (20-30 units a month)

 

Community Updates

Councilwoman Robb: Cabinet in the Community in District 10 on Sept. 7; location TBD

 Brad Zieg’s request to include his neighborhood organization on the board of CBHD has been tabled for the next meet to allow additional discussion. Concerns were raided about the nature of the organization, its membership, and its role in the surrounding area. Brad will prepare a report on his organization to share with the Board.

 Mailing List: the list will be finalized and received soon from Marcus Pachner, and future emails will be sent using MailChimp. David Bromberg is coordinating.

 Next Meeting: September 5

 

Thank you to National Jewish for the use of their facilities.