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The Regional Transportation District is now weighing the
options it has for making improvements to the
Civic
Center Station bus terminal in downtown
Denver, following the award of only $6.9 million of the
$14 million it had sought for the project from the U.S.
Federal Transit Administration. The improvements to be
prioritized include the renovation of the landscaped
plaza and structural repairs that lie between the
bus-station ceiling and the plaza, known as interstitial
space; the isolation system within the floor that is to
buffer the walls of the adjacent structure from the
vibration of the bus traffic; mechanical and electrical
repairs; and design improvements.
RTD staff and the general public are invited to hear
competing ideas on how to reuse RTD's historic
Denver
Union Station (DUS) building. Two
developer teams will present their proposals from 6-8:30
p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 3 in Rooms 201 and 203 of the
Colorado Convention Center (700 14th St.). Each team
will have 30 minutes to present and 30 minutes to answer
questions. The first presentation by Union Station
Neighborhood Company starts at 6:15 p.m., and the second
presentation by Union Station Alliance starts at 7:25
p.m.
In 2010, RTD commissioned a committee of representatives
from downtown interests, historic preservationists, the
City and County of Denver, the DUS Project Authority and
others to identify potential uses for the rehabilitation
and reuse of DUS. The Stakeholder Committee developed
building reuse goals, considered alternative reuse
scenarios, evaluated the ability of the reuse scenarios
to meet community goals, and discussed the process for
selecting a developer to complete the building
restoration and reuse.
DUS will serve as the intermodal transportation hub for
the Denver metro region, bringing together rail and bus
service, Amtrak, shuttle service, taxis, bikes, and
pedestrian uses. As owner of the building, RTD will
decide how the interior of the building will be
redeveloped to accommodate its new role as both an
activity center and a transit station. As part of this
process, RTD released a Request for Qualifications
followed by a Request for Proposals, receiving two
developer concepts for consideration. More at:
http://www.rtd-fastracks.com/main_7
After a three-month closure, the new
Auraria
West Light Rail Station opened October
31. The Station is now located west of 5th Street, south
of Walnut and north of Colfax. The Auraria West Station
was relocated 300 feet northwest to allow West Rail Line
tracks to go under the Colfax viaduct and tie into the
existing tracks just south of the Auraria West Station.
This opening concludes construction activities that
included integrating the existing Central Platte Valley
tracks into the West Rail Line under construction and
demolishing the old Auraria West Station.
The 2004 RTD FasTracks Plan identified the need for
additional transit between Denver Union Station (DUS)
and Civic Center that complements the Mall Shuttle
service. To address this need, the Downtown Denver
Circulator (DDC) project was born. The DDC is planned as
a high-frequency shuttle bus service that will connect
passengers from DUS to the Golden Triangle, stopping
approximately every two to three blocks. The bus will
leave DUS via 19th Street, then turn south on Broadway
toward 12th Street and Acoma. On the return trip, the
shuttle will head north on Lincoln and take 18th Street
back to DUS.
The City of Glendale announced Integral Real Estate
Development, LLC as the Master Developer of the
Glendale
Riverwalk Project. Riverwalk is planned
to be a 22 acre, one-million SF entertainment district
with a 28,000 SF covered plaza gateway entrance, and a
4,000 seat amphitheatre, with 3,000 parking spaces and
restoration of the 20-acre Cherry Creek Greenway nearby.
The project was started in 2009 by replacement of the
Cherry Creek Inn hotel with the Hilton Garden and retail
space at the SEC Colorado Blvd/Cherry Creek Drive South.
In September CitySet began construction of a Marriott
Residence Inn on the site immediately east. The
development is planned to include the Rugby Hall of Fame
and have "hybrid" interior streets for able to be
restricted to pedestrian use when needed, similar to the
new Fillmore Plaza in Cherry Creek North.
Brian Levitt, President and CEO of Integral, founded the
company in 2007 after working with Forest City
Enterprises on the redevelopment of Stapleton and the
creation of Northfield Stapleton. Integral's team for
the project includes HOK planning and architecture,
Populous architecture, Tryba Architects and Turner
Construction, general contractor for Glendale's Infinity
Park development.
The recent exchange of the
Solera
apartment complex between seller Zocalo Community
Develop Inc. and buyer The Connell Co. managed to set a
new per unit record sale price in Colorado. Located at
1956 Lawrence Street, the 120-unit property was
exchanged for $37 million, or $308,333/unit.
Three floors of the Kansas Plow Company building at
1543 Wazee Street in lower downtown (LoDo)
Denver have been purchased by The United States Public
Interest Research Group Education Fund Inc. for $3.19
million, or $133/SF. The 2nd through 4th floors that
comprise the purchase total 24,027 SF and previously had
served as the headquarters for Chipotle Mexican Grill.
Downtown Denver finally has a grocery store!
Dean's
Urban Market opened recently in 12,000
SF at 1415 Park Avenue West in the Ballpark
Neighborhood. The store offers standard as well as
natural and organic foods. The operators are members of
a family that also operate a grocery store in Fairplay.
Chesapeake Lodging Trust has completed its purchase of
the
Denver
Marriott City Center. The 613-room hotel
was purchased for $119 million, or $194,127/room.
The
South
Lincoln Homes project is to receive
expedited review and permitting processes courtesy of
the White House. Selected to be among the 14 chosen, the
move will allow financing for the project to be
completed in no more than two months instead of the
standard four to six, thereby advancing the beginning
date of its construction. Located at West 10th Avenue
and Osage Street, the project was recently renamed
Mariposa, and is to result in as many as 900 low-income,
affordable and market-rate housing units at the site.
A 101-unit apartment complex proposed for the Denver
location of Colfax and Zenobia Street is currently
underway by the Denver Road Home program and the
Department of Housing and Urban Development. Anticipated
to be ready for move-in by April, The
Renaissance West End Flats are to offer
housing for as many as four-dozen former homeless
individuals and families.
A future redevelopment project along East Colfax between
Monroe and Garfield Streets on land previously occupied
by car dealerships owned by Rosen-Novak and John Elway
is to be anchored by a
Sunflower
Farmers Market. Slated for completion
before the 2012 holiday season, the grocer is to occupy
26,000 SF, while an additional 10,000 SF to 15,000 SF of
space at an adjacent block between Garfield and Jackson
streets will be developed with retail and restaurant
space.
The 37,558 SF office building at
360 South
Garfield Street was recently purchased
for $1.95 million ($52/SF) by Cherry Creek Real Estate
Holdings LLC via Tim Hakes and Michael Hayutin of
Weststar Management Corp.
A lease agreement for 51,139 SF of office space at the
Colorado Center Tower II building at
2000 South Colorado Boulevard was recently signed by
Willis Holdings Group.
Stein Mart
leased for 29,500 SF at the University Hills Shopping
Center at the NEC of South Colorado Boulevard and Yale
Avenue.
The recent announcement of future closure of the
Lowes
home improvement store at
Alameda
Square Shopping Center has sent the
retail center into a tailspin. Opening just 19 months
ago, the store was expected to aid in resurrection of
the center following a near 2-decade effort by civic
leaders. The closure of the 103,000 SF store could
possibly have an impact on the ability of the Denver
Urban Renewal Authority to reimburse $7.3 million from
sales and property taxes generated at the site to
Brighton Development Co., which spent $28.6 million in
redeveloping the retail center in 2010. The store was
among 20 chosen by the company to be permanently closed.
Since the Lowes site was formerly proposed for a
Wal-Mart, it's interesting that the opening of the first
Neighborhood Market grocery store in Denver by Wal-Mart
is to occur next year. Set for the location of East
Evans Avenue and South Monaco Parkway in a space
formerly occupied by King Soopers, the store is designed
to fill smaller sites than the traditional Wal-Mart so
as to allow urban markets access to the lower prices
offered by the retailer.
Members of the Cherry Creek North Neighborhood
Association were recently surveyed about events on
Fillmore Plaza to provide the Business
Improvement District (BID) Event Advisory Group
information to plan 2012 events to attract customers to
BID businesses and provide entertainment to neighborhood
residents. For results go to:
www.ccnneighbors.com.
Denver City Council Member Jeanne Robb reports that the
Colfax Streetscape Project, part of the
2007 City-wide bond projects will begin in Spring 2012
to create an enhanced transit corridor. Earlier Xcel
will be undergrounding the overhead wires between
Sherman St and Steele Street. From Columbine to St. Paul
Street improvements will include pedestrian lights
painted a special "Greektown Blue", improved sidewalks,
curb ramps and new trees with irrigation. From Grant to
Columbine improvements will include upgraded and new
pedestrian classic-looking acorn glass/dome lights to
make the area safer and more welcoming.
The 1998
Golden
Triangle Plan recommended studying
converting
one-way
streets in the area. But nothing could
really be studied until the Justice Center was up and
running. The Golden Triangle Neighborhood Association
requested that Delaware St. from 11th Ave. to 13th Ave.
and Cherokee St. from 10th Ave. to 13th Ave be converted
to 2-way traffic to help mitigate anticipated traffic
impacts from the new Denver Justice Center. Denver
Traffic Engineering Services reviewed traffic conditions
to determine if a two-way conversion was feasible and
found the traffic on both Cherokee and Delaware below
5,000 vehicles/day which can be accommodated by two-way
streets. The work may be complete by now.
A
"halo" camera system was installed
recently along
East
Colfax Avenue and early reports are the
cameras are doing their work. Most security cameras are
passive, used for review after the crime. Along Upper
Colfax from Grant Street to Josephine Street, halo
cameras are monitored on real time and provide active
deterrence. Denver District 6 police use halo cameras
for ongoing prevention, the arrest of crimes in
progress, and investigation after the fact.
Denver Police Lieutenant, Ernest Martinez says that in
the first four months the cameras have been running,
there has been a 30 to 50% drop in crime within the view
of this initial disbursement. He notes that halo
surveillance cameras work best on center stage and
community talk is key. The more residents know where the
cameras are, the better they work. Currently, Upper
Colfax's halo cameras line the intersections of Colfax
Avenue. As crime moves off camera, more halos will be
installed to catch the flow onto major side streets.
Council Member Robb says, future Upper Colfax
improvements will include continued investment in halo
cameras in partnership with the ongoing efforts of the
Denver Police.
The Cranmer Park/Hilltop Civic Association reports that
Sundial Plaza at Cranmer Park is in need
of major repairs resulting in plans to rebuild the
entire structure. The project totals $1.3 million with
$865,000 still needed to be raised before the project
begins. An event sponsored by Denver Parks and
Recreation was held at the park in May to kick off the
fund raising efforts. A committee of representatives
from the City and the neighborhood are meeting on a
monthly basis to move the project forward. The monthly
meetings are open to all interested parties. Additional
information and local fund raising efforts will be
shared in the coming months. More at:
http://denverhilltop.com/
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