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3 minute read
New GV office tower will generate 3,610 new car trips per day
from 7-13-23 Villager
by The Villager
BY FREDA MIKLIN GOVERNMENTAL REPORTER
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On July 10, Greenwood Village City Council gave unanimous preliminary approval to the construction of Granite High Pointe Office Tower, a 12-story 325,234-square foot building on an 8.57-acre site at 6430 S. Fiddlers Green Circle at Peakview Avenue between Greenwood Plaza Boulevard to the west and Yosemite Street to the east. Included in the plan is also, “a new 116,876 square foot, five-story parking structure (which) will be constructed on the south side of the site that will expand the site’s access onto the back delivery alley of the Arapahoe Marketplace Shopping Center.”
The traffic study provided by Granite as part of their application states that the new construction will generate 3,610 new car trips to and from the site daily, of which “475 to 500 will occur during peak hours.” The study concludes that, “Traffic operations were evaluated based on the addition of these trips to the study area roadway network. Short-term and long-term traffic projections were developed and analyzed, and the results of this study showed that the existing roadway network can accommodate the additional office traffic.”
The city council also approved allowing the developer, Granite Properties, to provide 1,328 parking spaces and two loading spaces, instead of the 1,781 parking spaces and eight loading spaces required by GV’s land development code, based on the developer’s assessment of the project’s expected actual needs for parking and loading.
While several council members, led by Mayor Pro Tem Dave Kerber, questioned the negative impact of the significant additional traffic which he named as the number one issue in Greenwood Village, by the time the vote came, he cast the first yes vote for the project.
Both the council mem-
In giving its unanimous approval to Granite High Pointe Tower, the city council concluded that, “Traffic shouldn’t be a hindrance to GV upgrading its office buildings,” and, “This approval will send a message to developers that we are willing to listen.”
The city’s community development department recommended approval of the project based on city policy that, “Greater density is to be considered in the Village Center Sub-Area, which supports the overall goal of the Arapahoe Road Corridor Planning Area which seeks to promote the planning area as a major office park…”
GV Planner II David French told the council that, “A new high-quality office building will enhance property values in the area.”
The staff report noted that the “closest residential development are the Caley Ponds Townhomes located 1,500 feet to the northeast.” The project will have the required 37 bicycle parking places.
The new development will include 44% open space, significantly over the 30% required by the land development code, and is planned to
“enhance the pedestrian experience of the existing property (High Pointe, a five-story office building already on the site) and connect the existing and new structures with a shared exterior plaza and landscaping improvements…Proposed pedestrian connections and plaza space will help link this stie to the Arapahoe at Village Center Station…The concept for the urban core of the project is to provide amenities that respond to the natural habitat of office life—plaza for outdoor eating, events and informal interactions, outdoor meeting rooms for large and small interactions and buffeted perimeter, with low water requirement plantings to enhance a stronger sense of place.”
Granite Properties’ description of the project also points out that, “The plan meets the intent of the Village Center Planning Subarea (because) housing is not proposed.”
High Pointe Tower was presented to GV’s planning and zoning commission on May 16. It was recommended for approval on a vote of four to two, with commissioners Richard Easton and Randy Davis voting no. Both Easton and Davis stated concerns about traffic resulting from the project. Davis also expressed unease about parking and the height of the building in its proposed location, noting that taller buildings in GV were supposed to be adjacent to I-25.
Open Studio Architecture and Norris Design are the lead designers for High Pointe Tower. Granite has a longstanding relationship with the city, having built three other office buildings in GV, Plaza Tower One, Granite Place at Village Center, and High Pointe.
Construction of Granite High Pointe Tower is expected to take 21 months from start to finish. fmiklin.villager@gmail.com
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