Mobility
The Regional
Transportation District
(RTD) started service on
the R
Line on
Friday, Feb. 24 bringing
light rail through the
heart of Aurora. The
new light rail R Line,
known as the Aurora
Line/I-225 Rail during
construction, extends
service from the
existing Nine Mile
Station north 10.5-miles
to Peoria Station
connecting to the
University of Colorado A
Line to Denver
International Airport.
The full R Line service
will travel 22 miles
from the Lincoln Station
to Peoria Station. This
project also extends
RTD's current H Line
from Nine Mile to the
new Florida Station. It
is the fourth transit
line RTD to open within
the last fourteen
months.
"The R Line is a
signature project for
RTD, the City of Aurora,
and our region," said
RTD General Manager and
CEO Dave Genova. "The
line is significant in
that it completes
another important
connection and mobility
opportunity on the
eastern side of the
metro area, connecting
commuters to important
destinations throughout
the line. RTD has
successfully operated
light rail trains for
more than twenty years
and being able to
provide additional light
rail service when the R
Line opens is very
exciting." The R Line
will connect riders to
major activity centers
like the Aurora Metro
Center, University of
Colorado Anschutz
Medical Campus,
Children's Hospital and
the new Veterans
Administration (VA)
Hospital.
Designed in part to
encourage an urban feel
through Aurora's city
center, the R Line will
provide access to
numerous businesses,
restaurants and
government offices
bringing new
transportation and
transit-oriented
development options to
the entire area.
"Light rail will
transform Aurora," said
Aurora Mayor Steve
Hogan. "This is not just
a train line running
through a part of our
community. This rail
line traverses the core
of the city. It will
truly connect the entire
metropolitan region to
Aurora." The R Line is
part of RTD's FasTracks
2004 voter-approved
transit expansion plan
to build new rail lines,
add bus rapid transit
service, new parking
spaces, redevelop Denver
Union Station and
redirect bus service to
better connect the
eight-county District.
Getting where you want
to go just got easier
with RTD's new Next
Ride feature.
Now you can quickly get
next scheduled departure
times from your stop,
24-hours a day, seven
days a week by calling
or visiting online.
RTD's new Next Ride
utilizes real-time data
to make accurate and
timely predictions about
the position and
predicted arrival times
for RTD vehicles
district-wide. The beta
release includes vehicle
locations and predicted
arrivals for buses, and
vehicle locations only
for all light rail
lines. Information is
not yet available for
the A and B lines.
What is the picture of
Denver's transit
service, access, and
programs today? Who
rides transit? What
influences people to
ride transit? What
actions have other
cities taken to
demonstrate success in
delivering local and
regional transit
service? These are a few
of the questions
addressed in the Denver
Moves: Transit State
of the System Report.
Denver Moves: Transit is
Denver's first transit
plan that will look to
create a local vision
for new transit choices
and improvements. The
plan will examine how
transit can play a key
role in creating a
successful mobility
system that moves more
people through our city
as our population
continues to grow. As
part of Denveright,
Denver Moves: Transit
convenes community
conversations to shape
how mobility will evolve
to meet the needs of
those who live, work and
play in Denver over the
next 20 years. With
about a year remaining
in the process
substantial progress has
been accomplished in the
first phase of the
project. Denveright is
a community-driven
planning process in four
key areas: land use,
mobility, parks and
recreational resources.
Four coordinated
citywide plans, will
chart the course of the
Mile High City for the
next 20 years while also
identifying immediate
priorities to execute in
the next few years.
Since project kick-off
in mid-2016, the Denver
Moves: Transit team, in
coordination with
Denveright, has attended
community events,
conducted surveys and
stakeholder focus
groups, and hosted a
series of visioning
workshop activities.
Three key themes emerged
about the kind of
transit system the
community wants:
connected, high quality,
and healthy. With about
a year remaining in the
Denver Moves: Transit
plan development process
plans to:
Inform the development
of the Denveright vision
and refining the Denver
Moves: Transit goals and
objectives
Coordinate with
Blueprint Denver as they
develop land
use/transportation
scenarios
Prepare to identify and
prioritize corridors
Denver will be home to Rail~Volution
2017 from
September 17 - 20. Rail~Volution
is the premier
livability, transit and
transit-oriented
development conference
in the country. It is
the only national
conference that brings
together practitioners
from diverse sectors
including government,
transit, real estate,
business, finance,
environment and
advocacy, bringing
1,400+ attendees who
drive land-use and
transit decisions in
their communities. The
conference is known for
quality and diversity.
Speakers and attendees
include leading
visionaries,
practitioners, emerging
leaders and community
members who have a
variety of experiences
and backgrounds, in the
public, private and
nonprofit sectors with
fresh ideas.
The Transit
Alliance Citizen's
Academy is
starting a new class.
The Citizens' Academy
was founded in 2007 to
educate and motivate
community stakeholders
by encouraging their
involvement to advance
transit, active
transportation, and
increased freedom of
mobility in our
communities. In a decade
of Academy, over 800
leaders have graduated
from the 7-week
Citizens' Academy and
Community Workshops.
The reach of the Academy
has been enormous, with
graduates serving in
elected and appointed
office and holding
positions on community
boards. A total of
sixteen of Academy
graduates are currently
in elected office,
ranging from RTD Board
of Directors to School
Boards, City Councils,
County Commissions and
the State Legislature.
What makes this
leadership program
nationally unique is
that all participants
are required to take
what they've learned and
create a six month
action plan to advance
mobility in their
community. The Academy
creates a roadmap for a
community's future by
examining
transportation,
infrastructure, economic
development, and
preservation of the
neighborhoods with the
introduction of new
investments in transit,
biking and walking. The
global outcome of the
Academy is to create
community leaders and
advocates that
understand the
relationship between the
infrastructure
investments we make
today and our
communities'
development, prosperity
and health of tomorrow.
Spring 2017 Citizens'
Academy Key Dates:
Application deadline:
March 17th, 5pm
Citizens' Academy: every
Wednesday night, 6-9pm
from April 5-May 17
Denver City Council
Member Mary Beth Susman
reports that the City
Council held its annual
policy and budget
retreat charting key
citywide priorities on
which Council will focus
next year. Among these
priorities are mobility,
housing, homelessness,
solid waste plan, and
workforce development.
Chief among Susman's
priorities is
establishing an Office
of Mobility. "I
believe Denver needs an
agency whose primary
mission is to analyze
present and future
innovative transit
solutions and promote
and/or provide
convenient, inexpensive
transit to underserved
areas of Denver by
partnering with public
and private transit
providers. Council will
continue to work on
expanding the city's
network of sidewalks,
which is so critical to
first- and last-mile
connections of our
neighborhoods.
Additionally, Council
advocated for fully
building out the Denver
Moves bicycle plan,
paving unpaved alleys,
improving access to and
safety around pedestrian
infrastructure, and
fully funding
recommendations from the
Mayor's Mobility Task
Force."
Real Estate
Council Member Susman
also reports about the Upper
Montclair Basin Study.
The City of Denver and
the Urban Drainage and
Flood Control District
are conducting an
Outfall System Plan (OSP)
Study of storm water
management in the
Montclair watershed. The
Montclair drainage basin
is over 9 square miles,
and is Denver's largest
drainage basin without
an open waterway. The
basin is fairly flat and
prone to flooding at
certain key low points.
The current storm water
drainage system, which
includes pipes and
street capacity to
convey water safely,
needs to be improved in
some key areas. The
Montclair Basin has been
identified as a priority
basin for storm drainage
improvements and has
also been identified as
a priority basin for
water quality
improvement. Modeling of
the hydrology in the
basin is up to date and
complete. The Upper
Montclair Basin includes
Congress Park, South
City Park, the south
part of Park Hill, Hale,
Montclair, Mayfair,
Hilltop, Crestmoor,
Fairmount Cemetery, and
small portions of
Washington Virginia
Vale, and Lowry (west of
Quebec). The study will
look at drainage
improvements in the near
term, long-range
drainage improvements,
and a framework for
resiliency in land use
practices and green
infrastructure.
Upcoming community
meetings on flood and
storm water management
include:
Wednesday, March 1st,
5:30 - 7:00 pm at Palmer
Elementary School
located at 995 Grape
Street in the Learning
Lab-Room 119
Thursday, March 2nd,
5:30 - 7:00 pm at The
Art Gym located at 1460
Leyden Street
From Real Estate
Perspective Newsletter
Refinancing to
Save Union Station Debt
Payments
Source: Denver Post
The City and County of
Denver and the Regional
Transportation District
agreed to refinance debt
incurred for the
redevelopment of the
Denver Union Station
area. The increased
development in the
neighborhood around the
station has generate
much more tax revenue
than initially
projected. Because of
the increase about $300
million in debt will be
refinanced, resulting in
complete repayment of
the station debt faster
than expected. The
savings for RTD may be
used to expand some of
the planned light rail
or commuter rail lines
that currently have no
revenue sources.
Target May Open
Downtown Store
Source: Denver Business
Journal
Target may open a store
in downtown Denver. The
retailer is considering
a location on the 16th
Street Mall at
California Street. The
store would contain
about 28,130 square feet
and would occupy several
floors. It is one of a
new Target concept of
smaller urban stores.
Optiv Signs
Lease in New Downtown
Tower
Source: Business Denver
Optiv Security became
the first tenant to sign
a lease in 1144 15th
Street, the 40-story
downtown building begin
developed by Hines. The
company will occupy
75,000 square feet in
the building when
construction is
completed in late 2017.
Lease negotiations on
behalf of the Hines were
handled by JLL brokers
Michael Crane, Peter
Merrion, Andrew Ross and
Jamie Roupp.
Developers
Finalize Land Lease for
Downtown Tower
Source: Denver Business
Journal
A proposed 32-story
building in downtown
Denver moved closer to
construction with the
announcement of the
signing of a land lease.
The building on 15th
Street between
California and Welton
streets will be
developed by a
partnership of Patrinely
Group of Houston and
USAA Real Estate
Company. The building
will contain about
606,500 square feet.
Once site and concept
plans are approved by
the City and County of
Denver construction is
scheduled to begin in
early 2018. A second
phase may include a
hotel.
Gates Adds
Downtown Space
Source: Denver Business
Journal
The Gates Corporation
leased 125,968 square
feet at 1144 15th
Street, the 40-story
office building being
developed downtown by
Hines. The company's
headquarters are
currently at 1551
Wewatta Street and there
was no announcement as
to whether the lease is
an expansion or
relocation. Hines
expects to complete
construction on the
building in early 2018.
German Firm
Purchases Uptown
Apartments
Source: Business Denver
A German investment firm
bought One City Block, a
302-unit apartment
project in the Uptown
neighborhood. Deutsche
Asset Management paid
RedPeak Properties $99.5
million, or about
$329,000 per unit. The
property occupies the
block bounded by East
18th and East 19th
avenues and Logan and
Pennsylvania streets. It
was completed in 2013.
ARA brokers Jeff Hawks
and Terrance Hunt were
listing agents for
RedPeak.
TV Stations
Building to Seattle
Company
Source: Denver Business
Journal
A Seattle based real
estate investment
company bought 100 East
Speer Boulevard, a
100,000 square foot
office building south of
downtown Denver. Urban
Renaissance Group paid
$23 million for the
building, or about $230
per square foot. The
building is entirely
occupied by television
stations KDVR and KWGN.
A subsidiary of Tribune
Media Company was the
seller. The two stations
have long term leaves on
the building.
Legacy Starting
Golden Triangle
Apartments
Source: Denver Business
Journal
Legacy Partners started
construction on a 322
unit apartment building
in the Golden Triangle
neighborhood south of
downtown. TriVista on
Speer is located on
Speer Boulevard between
West 13th and West 14th
avenues. The project is
one of a number of new
apartment developments
occurring in the
neighborhood. It is
being developed in
conjunction with USAA
Real Estate Company.
Former Sears
Warehouse Attracts New
Tenants
Source: Colorado Real
Estate Journal
The former Sears
warehouse in south
central Denver was
converted into
multi-tenant space by
Triumph Real Estate
Corporation and Arc
Capital Partners. The
330,000 square foot
building is located at
701 Osage Street. Recent
leases have included
98,140 square feet to
Bison Innovative
Products and 58,185
square feet to Quality
Electric Distribution.
The building is now
being marketed as the
Denver Urban Business
Center.
Hotel Planned in
Golden Triangle
Source: Business Denver
A joint venture of
Alliance Investments and
H and H Hotels plans to
develop a 157 room hotel
in Golden Triangle. The
Element Hotel will be
located at West 13th
Avenue and Elati Street.
The venture bought the
0.68 acre site for $3.6
million, which equates
to about $121 per square
foot. The Element is a
Marriott brand that
offers extended stay
units.
Plans Being
Finalized for Sloan's
Lake Project
Source: Business Denver
Two developers expect to
finalize the purchase of
a site at the
redevelopment of the
former St. Anthony's
hospital in west Denver.
Trailbreak Partners and
Koelbel and Company are
acquiring a block
bounded by West 16th and
West 17th avenues and
Perry and Quitman
streets. The will
renovate the vacant
Kuhlman building into 49
units of low and
moderate income
apartments and construct
25 for-sale townhouses.
The historic Kuhlman
building was formerly a
nurses' dormitory.
Construction is expected
to begin later this
year.
Alsation Land
Files Plans for Park
Avenue Building
Source: Denver Infill
Kansas City-based
Alsation Land Company
filed concept plans for
a 238-unit apartment
building in the Arapahoe
Square neighborhood. The
13-story building would
be located at 600 Park
Avenue, also fronting on
Welton Street. The plans
have been submitted to,
and await approval from,
the newly created
Arapahoe Square Design
Advisory Board. The
board was created by the
Denver City Council
after adoption of the
Arapahoe Square land use
plan.
Townhouses
Started in Cole
Neighborhood
Source: Confluence
Denver
Cecil Development
started work on Solis
Townhomes, an 11-unit
for-sale affordable
project in the Cole
neighborhood. The units
will sell for about
$147,000 to $187,000.
depending on buyer
incomes. The site at
3390 Humboldt Street is
being developed under
the City and County of
Denver's inclusionary
housing program, using
in-lieu funds from the
Pauls Corporation, which
is developing the luxury
Laurel condos in Cherry
Creek North.
UCHealth to
Building Cherry Creek
North Medical Center
Source: Denver Business
Journal
UCHealth will construct
an 89,000 square foot
medical center at 100
Cook Street in Cherry
Creek North. The project
is being developed in
partnership with
Brookhaven Capital
Partners. The five-story
building will provide
primary care and
ambulatory surgery
services. The site is
currently occupied by
several small retail and
office buildings.
BMC Purchases
Cherry Creek North
Building
Source: Business Denver
BMC Investments bought
240 St. Paul Street, a
25,000 square foot
office building in
Cherry Creek North. The
four-story building is
adjacent to the site of
210 St. Paul Street, an
81-unit apartment
building currently under
construction by BMC. The
property was acquired
from an undisclosed
owner for $10.9 million,
or about $436 per square
foot, including an
adjacent parking deck.
Report Analyzes
Cherry Creek Economy
Source: Denver Business
Journal
An annual report by the
Cherry Creek Area
Business Alliance
provided information on
the district's economic
impact. The two
mile-square district is
generally bounded by
University and Colorado
boulevards, East 6th
Avenue and Cherry Creek
South Drive. The report
indicated strong growth
in retail sales and in
taxable assessed real
estate valuations. About
16,000 people work in
the Cherry Creek
neighborhood. The
Alliance is next
planning to work on
transportation options
and improvements to the
Cherry Creek pedestrian
and bicycle trail.
Mixed-Use
Development Planned in
Park Hill
Source: Business Denver
MH Capital plans to
develop a $30 million
mixed-use development in
Park Hill. The company
acquired the the east
side of the block along
Fairfax Street between
East 28th and East 29th
avenues. Plans call for
Park Hill Commons to
contain 21 for-rent
townhouses, 22
apartments and
commercial space
surrounding a park. A
parcel on the west side
of Fairfax Street was
also acquired for use as
surface parking,
although additional
development may occur in
the future. Pending
planning approvals
construction may begin
in the summer.
Hanover Starting
South Broadway Project
Source: Business Denver
The Hanover Company is
starting construction on
a 303-unit apartment
development on part of
the former Gates Rubber
Company factory in south
Denver. Hanover Broadway
Station will be located
at the northeast corner
of South Broadway and
East Arizona Avenue. The
land was acquired for
$8.6 million, or the
equivalent of about
$28,000 per unit in land
costs. Completion is
scheduled for early
2019.
Fiori Family
Buys Former Hostess
Bakery
Source: Colorado Real
Estate Journal
The former Hostess
bakery in north Denver
was acquired by the
Fiori family, who are
converting the building
into multi-tenant space.
The building is located
at 80 East 62nd Avenue
in unincorporated Adams
County and contains
about 180,000 square
feet. Flowers Foods sold
the 57-year old building
for $3 million, or about
$16 per square foot.
Space in the building is
being marketed by
Ringsby Realty brokers
Scott Patterson and Alex
Ringsby.
Paper Company
Buys New Crossroads
Warehouse
Source: Denver Business
Journal
Sierra Pacific
Industries bought a new
56,800 square foot
warehouse in north
Denver. The building is
part of Crossroads
Commerce Park at East
52nd Avenue and
Washington Street being
developed by Trammell
Crow Company. The
industrial park occupies
a 77 acre site formerly
used by the Asarco Globe
smelter. The purchase
price was not announced.
Brokers with Newmark
Grubb Knight Frank were
involved in the sale.
Developer Chosen
for Elyria-Swansea
Project
Source: Denver Business
Journal
The Urban Land
Conservancy chose Zocalo
Community Development as
the master developer for
its six acre site in the
Elyria-Swansea
neighborhood of north
Denver. The Property at
East 48th Avenue and
Race Street is near
RTD's new commuter rail
station at the National
Western Center. The
general concept calls
for development of about
560 residential units
and 80,000 square feet
of commercial space. The
residential units would
include a mix of housing
for low and moderate
income residents and
market rate apartments.
Some of the units would
be offered for sale. The
initial phase is
expected to be completed
by late 2018.
Stock Show Draws
over 684,000 Visitors
Source: Denver Business
Journal
The 2017 edition of the
National Western Stock
Show and Rodeo drew
684,580 visitors to the
complex on Brighton
Boulevard in north
Denver. The attendance
was the third best in
the show's 111 year
history, surpassed only
by 2006 and slightly
below 2016.
Denver Approves
CPR Rezoning
Source: Denver Post
The Denver City Council
approved a rezoning
application that will
allow Colorado Public
Radio to relocate its
headquarters. The land
at 1601 West Jewell
Avenue in southwest
Denver is currently used
as for broadcast tower.
The radio station's
tentative plans are for
a new headquarters
building of up to
100,000 square feet on
the site adjacent to
Ruby Hill Park. The
station would relocate
from smaller quarters in
Centennial.
Grow Generation
Opening South Denver
Store
Source: Business Denver
Grow Generation is
opening a 12,800 square
foot store at Jason
Street and West
Mississippi Avenue in
south Denver. The
company sells
hydroponics equipment
and is also moving its
headquarters from Pueblo
to Denver. The
Mississippi Avenue
location will be Grow
Generation's second
store in metro Denver.
Theater Being
Converted to Distillery
Source: Business Denver
A former movie theater
in the Baker
neighborhood is being
converted into a
distillery. The historic
building at 119 South
Broadway contains about
13,000 square feet and
was formerly home to an
X-rated movie theater.
The Archetype Distillery
will include the
distillery, bottling
facility, cold storage
and a tasting room.
