|
As noted last month, the future of the
Denver
Union Station historic building was
determined by approval of a 130-room hotel, restaurant
and retail redevelopment for the building by the
Regional Transportation District. Actually, the RTD
Board selected one team for the RTD staff to negotiate
the redevelopment contract with final approval of the
contract by the Board to come in a couple of months. To
be completed in time for the formal re-opening of the
station in 2014, the $48 million project proposed by
Union Station Alliance is to benefit RTD with $65
million in revenue over a 60-year lease. The hotel will
be operated together with the nearby Oxford Hotel. The
Station is now the subject of town-hall meetings and
public focus groups in the Union Station Great Hall
hosted by Union Station Alliance to gather information
regarding the management of the plaza and other public
spaces of the building as well as the retail components
of the project. More in an interview with Walt Isenberg
on Colorado Public Radio at:
http://www.cpr.org/#load_article|Hotel_Planned_for_Historic_Denver_Union_Station
RTD is currently working on the 2012
FasTracks
Annual Program Evaluation (APE) and recently presented
short-term and long-term options for completing the
FasTracks program to the RTD Board of Directors. The
capital cost to implement the entire FasTracks project
has increased to $7.8 billion, an increase of $968.3
million from last year's APE. 85% of this increase is
due to updated Northwest (NW) Rail Line costs which
include recent cost information from BNSF Railway. The
Northwest Rail project cost has gone from $894.6 million
(in the 2011 APE) to $1.7 billion to complete the
program by 2024.
The cost estimate for Segment Two of the NW Rail Line
from Westminster to Longmont has increased to $1.7
billion in year of expenditure (YOE) dollars. The
increase comes from additional right-of-way acquisition
and vehicles, further environmental mitigation and
utility relocations, and a one-time upfront capital cost
for the operating easement from BNSF railroad, which was
previously assumed by RTD to be an annual Operations &
Maintenance cost. Following concerns from stakeholders
due to the increased NW Rail costs, RTD staff developed
three options for RTD Board consideration:
Option One: Delay completion of NW Rail 3-5 years to
meet RTD's cash flow, which extends the completion date
for the NW Rail Line from 2020 to 2024.
Option Two: Delay completion of NW Rail to 2024, but
accelerate select capital projects and increase funding
for bus service in the interim.
Option Three: Remove the NW Rail Line from the FasTracks
plan and commit remaining NW Rail Line project funds,
capped at $894.6M, to expanded Bus Rapid Transit (BRT)
in the northwest service area.
RTD staff is performing technical/financial analyses for
Options 2 and 3 and will present additional information
to the RTD Board on March 6. BRT was already planned for
a portion of the NW Rail Line. For a description of BRT
as successfully implemented in Bogota, Columbia, go to:
http://www.streetfilms.org/bus-rapid-transit-bogota/
AMLI Residential broke into the downtown apartment
market recently with the purchase of a 2.67-acre site at
20th and Little Raven Streets. Purchased
for $9 million or $77/SF, the company intends to build a
242-unit apartment complex on the site.
The
1755 Blake
Street office building in downtown
Denver was the focus of a recent transaction between
buyer Crow Holdings Capital Partners LLC dba CH Realty
V/1755 Blake LLC and seller 1755 Blake Street LLC.
Totaling 112,724 SF, the sale of the 5-story building
for $40.6 million was equivalent to $360/SF.
The establishment of a
Sunflower
Farmers Market along East Colfax was
advanced recently with the approval of rezoning of the
former Rosen Novak and John Elway auto center site by
the Denver Planning Board. To be located on the north
side of the street between Monroe and Garfield streets,
the $8 million building is to total 26,000 SF and is
anticipated to impact the local economy by 110 new jobs
with a total average annual payroll of $2 million.
The site of a surface parking lot in the Uptown District
near downtown Denver is to become the home of a new
apartment complex by RedPeak Properties. To be bordered
by East 18th and 19th Avenues, Pennsylvania
and Logan Streets, construction of
The
Residences at 19th & Logan is
to begin in the Spring of 2012. The 300 units will be in
four buildings up to 5 stories high that also provide
400 parking spaces underground and 9,000 SF of ground
floor retail.
A new luxury apartment complex has been announced for
expansion of the
Greenhouse
apartment building at 350 South Jackson Street by
Alliance Residential Co. To total 161 units,
construction of the 2-building complex is to begin
February 2nd, and is to offer unit sizes on average
greater than 1,000 SF and an average monthly rent of
$1,900.
The 419-unit
Alexan
Broadway Apartments at 1145 South
Broadway in Denver was recently sold by Trammell Crow
Residential. Purchased for $82 million by GID, or
$195,704/unit, the new owner has renamed the property
Windsor at Broadway Station.
The
Sage Brook
Apartments in Denver were recently
traded for $14.2 million, or $65,700/unit. Located at
7201 Leetsdale Drive, the 216-unit property was sold to
Capital Real Estate LLC by The Bascom Group.
The remaining unsold units of the
Luce
Residences at the Lowry Town Center in
Denver sold for an undisclosed amount to Condo Capital
Solutions. Totaling 33 units, the asking prices of the
individual units range from $199,000 to $400,000,
reflecting a reported discount of nearly 50% from the
original construction costs.
The 560-unit
Renaissance Apartments community in
Denver was recently sold by Carmel Cos.. Purchased by
ConAm for $70.75 million, or $126,339/unit, the property
is located at 9110 East Florida Avenue.
A price of $56.6 million, or $115,984/unit, was garnered
by Wasatch Property Management in the sale of the
Legend Oaks Apartments to Fairfield
Residential LLC. Sold via Apartment Realty Advisors, the
property totals 488 units at 1250 South Dayton Court in
Denver.
The 142-unit
Seven Oaks
Apartments in Denver has been exchanged
for $8.5 million, or $59,859/unit. Located at 425 South
Galena Way, the property was sold by Carmel Partners.
Greenleaf Partners and 29th Street Capital purchased the
property.
Denver City Council Member Jeanne Robb reports that four
new businesses have opened in Cherry Creek:
Phat Thai
- 2nd Avenue at Fillmore,
Sugarlicious - 3rd and Milwaukee,
Jeona at 3rd and Milwaukee, and
Cuppy
Cakes of Cherry Creek at 3rd and
Elizabth.
Western Development Group is proposing to rezone the
200 block of Columbine (east side) from
the current C-CCN zoning to C-MX-8 and C-MX-5 for a
mixed-use project that would include office (at the
south end on 2nd Ave.), residential/condominiums
(mid-block) and retail/residential on 3rd Ave. The
building would step-down from 8 stories on 2nd Ave. to 3
stories at 3rd Ave. The ground floor of the project
would be wrapped with retail, and parking for all uses
would be underground. Western states that, "Currently,
the 200 block of Columbine (east side) has been
difficult for property owners to find active uses. The
buildings are generally considered functionally
obsolete, and despite our best efforts, the block has
been mostly vacant for some time."
While a rezoning application has been submitted, Western
is not planning to bring the application forward until
after the draft Cherry Creek Area Plan is issued.
Western will continue to work with the surrounding
neighborhood and business community to provide more
information and answer questions on the project as it
becomes available.
The
Colfax
Avenue Concept Plan is the new name for
what many knew as the Colfax Street Guidelines. This
document from Public Works will give guidance to City
staff in the development review process and to property
owners along the Colfax corridor and will serve as a
foundation for future policies. In the Spring,
streetscape improvements to be installed on along East
Colfax Avenue as part of the 2007 bond project passed by
the voters that will enhance the transit corridor
include:
Columbine to St. Paul - Greektown - 6 blocks
* 28 new pedestrian lights painted a special "Greektown
Blue"
* Improved sidewalks and curb ramps
* 14 trees with irrigation
Grant to Columbine - Colfax BID - 20 blocks
* 127 new pedestrian lights
* The 1960s-era "hairdryer type" light posts with
constricted light coverage will be replaced with new
classic-looking acorn glass/dome lights. Click here to
view the Colfax Area Concept Plan.
http://www.denvergov.org/Portals/696/documents/SiteEngineering/Colfax%20Avenue%20Concept%20Plan.pdf
The contracts for the
Colfax
Avenue Alternatives Analysis, which is
the follow-up to the Colfax Streetcar Feasibility Study
have been awarded. The Alternatives Analysis is a much
more detailed study, required if Denver applies for
federal funding for streetcar or transit.
The
Cherry
Creek Area Plan process which began in
the spring of 2010, is entering the final phases. The
Cherry Creek Steering Committee heard a report from
economic development consultant Kenneth Ho whether
increased development capacity (height) would be needed
to spur re-development or whether there is already
enough un-used development capacity under the current
zoning. Ho essentially said that development is
constrained by economics as much as by zoning density
and it is more feasible to build on larger sites than it
is on smaller ones. In February the Cherry Creek
Steering Committee is tentatively scheduled to begin
review of the draft Area Plan. The Cherry Creek North
Neighborhood Association conducted an on-line survey of
its members regarding density to be permitted under the
Area Plan and received nearly 300 responses,
overwhelmingly negative on the proposal of increased
permitted density in the Cherry Creek North business
district. Results are at:
http://www.ccnneighbors.com/
The Colorado Coalition for the Homeless (CCH) purchased
the Urban Land Conservancy's (ULC) Gateway property
earlier this month. The
former
Budget Motel at 3975 Colorado Boulevard
was purchased by ULC in 2006 at the request of CCH in
order to provide transitional housing services to
Denver's homeless families along high-frequency bus
routes such as the future East Rail Commuter Line of
FasTracks. Gateway is an example of real estate
preservation made available to the community by ULC.
More at:
http://www.urbanlandc.org/assets-investments/transitional-housing-at-3975-colorado-blvd/
The Colorado Boulevard Healthcare District continues to
process approval of the Sembler Development on the
former University of Colorado Health Sciences Center
site at East 9th Avenue/Colorado
Boulevard. A January meeting addressed Design Guidelines
and a meeting February 2nd at 4:00 PM Molly Blank
Conference Center will focus on traffic concerns. More
at:
Proposed 9th and Colorado redevelopment
http://denvergov.com/Portals/76/documents/9+CO%20CBHD%20site%20plan.pdf
Proposed GDP Amendment:
http://www.denvergov.com/cpd/Planning/tabid/429947/Default.aspx
Conceptual renderings:
http://denvergov.com/Portals/76/documents/9+CO%20Renderings%20.pdf
Sembler will also make presentations to the Hilltop,
Congress Park and Bellevue-Hale neighborhood
associations. Sembler purchased the site from the
University in mid-2011 and proposes much less density
than the previous developer, Shea Properties which
abandoned the 28-acre project in early 2011 after
obtaining approval of a General Development Plan from
the city of Denver. Alliance Residential Company
proposes to build 410 to 420 apartment units in three
buildings on the block bounded by 8th/9th/Bellaire/Clermont
using parking in the existing 1,050 space parking
structure. Alliiance is the same developer that will
build the Greenhouse expansion at Alameda/Jackson
Street.
A
pedestrian and bicycle bridge across I-25
north of East Evans Avenue is a part of the T-REX
project for which funds have been allocated, but which
has not yet been built. The city of Denver recently
sought stakeholder input for the $8 million project
before building it and has received differing opinions
from the bicycle community and local residents on the
north side of I-25 adjacent to the bridge ramp down to
street level. An elevator has been suggested as an
alternative to a long ramp at the north end of the
bridge, but this appears to be difficult to maintain and
for bicycles to use. Based on environmental studies done
for T-REX, the bridge is designed to enhance access to
the Colorado Center Light Rail Station from the
apartment and office buildings northeast of
I-25/Colorado Boulevard. After processing information
received, construction could take place within the next
year. More at:
http://www.denvergov.org/ProjectsinProgress/ColoradoCenterBicyclePedestrianBridge/tabid/437358/Default.aspx
|
