Synergy leads to success for mixed-use development in South Metro Dener

BY FREDA MIKLIN GOVERNMENTAL REPORTER

On June 12, South Metro Denver Chamber came back from its’ coronavirus hiatus with an exciting virtual program about the continuing economic triumph of mixeduse development in South Metro Denver, as evidenced by Denver’s Belleview Station, Lone Tree’s RidgeGate Development and Centennial’s Jones District. Neil Marciniak, economic development director for the City of Centennial who served as moderator, introduced the program with “These projects are changing the face of Denver South. Lots of open space. Lots of walkable space.”

Belleview Station

Jim Neenan, CEO of Prime West Real Estate, described Belleview Station as comprised of 40 acres out of the original 640 acres owned by the Bansbach family, acquired in 1871. They sold part of their property to George Wallace when I-25 was built because they could no longer get their tractors to the eastern portion. That was the beginning of the Denver Tech Center.

Located at the confluence of I-25 and I-225 with great light rail access, the overall master plan for this mixed-use development envisions 2.2 million square feet of office space, 250,000 square feet of retail, 2,000 residential units, and 2 hotels. Neenan told the virtual group that every office tenant they talk to asks the exact same questions: “Are we near the light rail and are there walkable amenities for our employees?” 6900 Layton, a new 15-story building that Prime West developed is one month away from completion. Fortune 500 company Newmont Mining Corporation, who Neenan said will start moving into floors six through ten of this column free, floor-to-ceiling windows building in the next month, told The Villager in February 2019 that they decided to leave Greenwood Village to move to 6900 Layton because Belleview Station offered the retail, restaurants, personal service businesses, and other amenities associated with modern-day mixed-use development that their employees wanted, in proximity to the light rail.

The master plan includes a generous park and a public plaza funded by the Belleview Station metropolitan district.

The next building expected to get underway is one being developed with Trammell Crow at Chenango and Newport. It will have 250 apartments and an amenity deck.There is also a 20-story 200-room Kimpton Hotel planned nearby with rooftop amenities.

RidgeGate

Keith Simon, executive vice-president of Coventry Development Corporation, opened with an interesting anecdote about the 3,500 acres that was to become RidgeGate. The land was owned by a European family who bought it up in the 1960’s and 1970’s as a hedge against what might happen in Europe due to the Cold War. Then they patiently waited for the right time to develop it.

With the portion of the six square-mile parcel on the west side of I-25 now 95 percent developed and home to 6,000 residents and 5,000 jobs, Coventry is now focused on the east side of the highway. Fully built out, it will include a 400-acre downtown-type development centered around the City Center Rail Station and mixed-use transit-oriented development that will consist of offices, residential, restaurants, retail, entertainment, and a hotel, all walkable from the light rail station.

Development began in 2000. Constant communication and coordination with the City of Lone Tree government led to the annexation of the property into Lone Tree and an ongoing partnership that continues to reap huge benefits to the city and its residents. That partnership lead to the land for the multi-million-dollar Lone Tree Arts Center and all three light rail stations in the area being donated by the developers.

RidgeGate began working with RTD and thinking about placemaking from the beginning. Looking toward the future and realizing that the population was moving away from single-occupied vehicles, Simon explained that, “Our work is driven by long-term aspirational thinking. Planned higher density walkable mixed-use community with light rail” was the goal.

Sky Ridge Medical Center was the first major development on one square mile, opening in 2003. It is now home to the 4,500-person Charles Schwab campus which is the largest private sector employer in Douglas County.

Repeating a theme heard throughout the 75-minute program, Simon said, “Employment campuses see real benefits by embedding their campuses where employees can walk, bike, or take light rail to work, walk to restaurants, and retail.”

When completed, RidgeGate’s development on the east side of I-25 will have 5,000 residents, 35,000 workers, a light rail station, and the Lincoln Avenue District, including the University of Colorado Denver South Campus. Simon said that the first residential community will be built by Shea Homes. He added, “We have also committed to 350 affordable housing units. We are even looking at rental single-family homes.”

Jones District

The Jones District is a 42-acre area west of I-25 between IKEA and the Dry Creek light rail station. Dan Metzger of owner Brue Baukol Capital Partners said that this what was going to be around them in the way of walkable amenities. They wanted to know where employees could go property had difficulty getting off to get coffee or a drink after work the ground because every potential and where they could live nearby.” office tenant “wanted to know When they spoke to potential retail tenants, they were told that residential development was essential. “They couldn’t survive with only daytime traffic.”An added challenge was that this property has limited visibility from I-25. “We sat down with the City of Centennial and told them we needed to add a residential component to make the project successful.

The city responded positively. We worked with the city and neighborhood for the next year. Working with Centennial has been great. There has always been mutual respect even though we didn’t always agree. They’ve been a great partner. We are moving forward.” He added, “Jim (Neenan) gets to post a Denver address for his project, but I get to post a Centennial address for ours.” The Jones District will be a walkable mixed-use community of 2,000,000 square of office space, 50,000 square feet of retail, 1,500 new residential units, and a hotel over the next 15 to 20 years. It will have a farmer’s market, a large plaza, and lots of open space.

The tallest buildings will be up to 15 stories next to I-25, going down to eight stories as you move toward the interior. Just as the previous speakers did, Metzger added, “The light rail station is critical.” Jones has received approval for a metropolitan district to fund its infrastructure and hopes to start building in Q4, using a grid format for the design.

In response to a question from a meeting attendee about traffic, Metzger said, “The City of Centennial required us to submit a traffic study including how we will mitigate new traffic from our project. We did that and will contribute $3 million over time to fund the required infrastructure, based on traffic demand.”

Fmiklin.villager@gmail.com