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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1988-06-21 PZC MINUTES• • • ENGLEWOOD PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION JUNE 21, 1988 I. CALL TO ORDER. D R A F T The regular meeting of the Englewood Planning and Zoning Commission was called to order at 7:00 P.M. by Chairman Hanson in Conference Room A of the Englewood City Hall. Members present: Schultz, Such, Barbre, Carson, Draper, Fish, Hanson, Volkema Wanush, Ex-officio Members absent: None Also present: Wm. Richard Hinson, EURA Executive Director D. A. Romans, Assistant Director of Community Development Susan Hirsch, Senior Planner Eleanor Dunn, Visitor II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES. June 7, 1988 Chairman Hanson stated that the minutes of June 7, 1988 were to be considered for approval. Fish moved: Draper seconded: The Minutes of June 7, 1988 be approved as written. Mr. Volkema asked if "draft" or "unapproved" Minutes were being forwarded to City Council prior to the acceptance by the Commission. Mr. Wanush stated that the Minutes are being forwarded to Council prior to acceptance by the Boards and Commissions per the request of the Council. The vote was called on the approval of the Minutes. AYES: NAYS: ABSENT: ABSTAIN: Such, None None None Volkema, Barbre, Carson, Draper, Fish, Hanson, Schultz The motion carried. III. COMMISSION STUDY/WORK SESSION Englewood Urban Renewal Authority: Downtown Update Wm. Richard Hinson, EURA Executive Director Mr. Hinson presented several handouts to members of the Commission, including the latest Annual Report of the Authority, a chronological history of the progress on the downtown redevelopment, and a fact sheet citing investment -1 - figures, public funding sources, and project area summary. Mr. Hinson dis- cussed the background which led to the reactivation of the Englewood Urban Renewal Authority in 1981; the public improvements which the Authority was charged with financing and accomplishing; and the efforts of the Authority to secure redevelopers for downtown Englewood. Mr. Hinson also cited several studies that had been done for the City, including the Downtown Development Plan, by Design Workshop out of Aspen; the BBC Report (Brown, Bortz & Codding- ton), and the Laventhol ! Horwath Marketing Studies. The BBC Report set forth the premise that unless something was done to improve the downtown commercial base, the deterioration of sales tax revenue from the downtown area and from Cinderella City would continue. The Design Workshop study suggested ways to improve the commercial base, and suggested that Little Dry Creek could be made a water amenity for the downtown area. As a result of these studies, the Downtown Redevelopment Plan (Urban Renewal Plan) was writ - ten and adopted by the EURA and approved by the City Council in 1982 upon the recommendation of the Planning Commission. Mr. Hinson stated that there was some discussion about developing a special zone district for the downtown area, which would allow a residential/business mixed development . This spe- cial zone district was not enacted. Mr. Hinson stated that Requests for Proposals were mailed to approximately 60 developers throughout the Country, and advertisements were placed in the Wall Street Journal on both the east and west coast. One redeveloper, Bud Brady, expressed interest in the project; there were responses from several developers stating they were not interested in the project. Mr. Brady was • selected as the redeveloper for the downtown area, a Redevelopment Agreement • was signed by the EURA and Brady in November, 1983, and his initial project was the construction of a new King Sooper's store on the site of the City Parking Lot at South Bannock Street/West Girard Avenue. Mr . Brady purchased the former ''Park 'N Shop" area on the west side of South Broadway in the 3300 block, and ran into difficulty getting some of the tenants out of their leases. The EURA was asked to provide assistance in condemning the leasehold interest some of these tenants had in that particular location. Once the ten- ants were relocated, and the demolition begun , the redeveloper faced unexpect - ed expenses in asbestos removal from those buildings, and the demolition of the former First National Bank was considerably more expensive than had been estimated. Once the new King Sooper's building was ready for occupancy, it was found that KRAVCO, representing the owners of Cinderella City, would not release King Sooper's from their lease on the building at South Elati Street and West Girard Avenue. Therefore, the new structure stood empty for approxi- mately four months. In the interim, City Council directed the EURA to assist in any way possible to facilitate the relocation of the King Sooper's opera- tion to the new site, and the EURA obtained a $2.2 million loan from Fi rst Nat i onal Bank of Englewood, and signed a note for another $1.5 mi llion wi th KRAVCO to purchase the old King Sooper's block bounded by West Floyd Avenue, South Elati Street, West Girard Avenue, and South Cherokee Street . Once this purchase was finalized in the Fall of 1985, the King Sooper's operation was moved to the new store, and the Authority advertised for Requests for Pro- posals from redevelopers for this site. The response to this RFP resulted in the signing of a Redevelopment Agreement with JBC, whose proposal was to con- struct some housing units and an athletic club or theatre complex . Mr. Brady was financially unable to complete redevelopment of the downtown • area beyond the Trolley Square project, and was placed in default of the Re- developer's Agreement by the Authority in 1986. The area that was yet to be -2 - • • • developed was that area to the south of the Englewood Parkway, west of the Broadway/Acoma Alley. Again, RFP's were sent out, and Ross Investment Group/ Trammell Crow were ultimately chosen to develop this area. The Englewood Marketplace construction began in the Fall of 1987. Financial problems were also experienced by members of the JBC Partnership, which resulted in an assignment of their Redevelopment Agreement to Linear Properties of Colorado in 1987. Linear has been working for the last year to secure a major anchor; this has been accomplished, the land has been sold to Linear, the loan to the First National Bank has been paid off, and construc- tion will begin on the Phar-Mor Plaza development later this month. The Gunesch Greenhouses were also redeveloped with assistance of the EURA, and was redeveloped by 3B Corporation, Osprey, and Pennant Properties with a Buyer 's Club, Home Club, Rocky Rococo, and Silo. Buyer's Club opened for business in November, 1986, and Home Club opened in the Spring of 1987. Mr. Hinson displayed a plan of the redevelopment area, and discussed how and why the actual development has varied from the original concept. Mr. Hinson pointed out that the Cherokee/Parkway/Girard intersection, for instance, will be realigned to provide an automotive connection between Cinderella City and the South Broadway, Trolley Square, Englewood Marketplace, and Phar -Mor Plaza merchants. Mr. Hinson noted that the original plan depicted retail develop- ment in the center around the water feature, with parking on the periphery. This is contrary to the nature of people, who want to park their vehicles as close to their point of shopping as possible. Also, retail tenants want visibility from heavily traveled streets, thus the orientation of the Engle- wood Marketplace to face U.S. 285 rather than Englewood Parkway, with the parking provided on the interior . Also, retail tenants in new developments or redevelopments want the buildings built to their specifications --therefore, the construction of "spec retail" such as Trolley Square in the hope of at- tracting an interested tenant, is no longer being done . Mr . Fish asked what is happening on Trolley Square . Mr. Hinson discussed how JWM, a subsidiary of McCullough Corporation, which is a subsidiary of Preston Financial Corporation of Dallas, Texas acquired the property. Brady Corpora - tion and Mr . Brady no longer have an interest in the property. JWM and the City of Englewood have been negotiating on the lease, lease/purchase, or pur- chase of the land under the new King Sooper's Store, and have reached an agreement wherein JWM will purchase .the land outright from the City for a price of $800,000. JWM will then expend approximately 1.5 million dollars to renovate the Broadway Trolley Square retail , providing more clearly defined access to the stores from the parking lot at King Sooper's, and making the structures more visually attractive from the parking lot . They also propose to extend the glass on the Broadway frontage out to the sidewalk line, thus eliminating the lower level "pocket" where gas fumes seem to collect . Mr. Schultz asked what market research was done prior to the beginning of the project. Mr. Hinson reiterated that the BBC Study was done in 1980/1981 for the City. The Urban Renewal Authority had the Laventhol & Horwath study pre- pared in 1984, and updated in 1985. Mr. Schultz asked what type of leases were being signed in the Englewood Marketplace. Mr . Hinson stated long term leases are being signed by the ten- ants of the Marketplace. He pointed out that the traffic counts on U.S. 285 is a great selling point for this site. -3 - Mr. Schultz stated that he is concerned about the long-term effect of this redevelopment project, and pointed out that even though the traffic volume is high on U.S. 285, this is no guarantee that motorists will shop in this area. He asked what the Englewood Parkway had cost to develop. Mr. Hinson stated that as he recalled, the cost of the Parkway was between $4 million to $5 mil- lion, and was done with the bond money as a public improvement. Mr. Schultz asked what significance the Parkway had in the development of the area. Mr. Hinson stated that the Parkway provides an attractive access to the redevelop- ment area, and ties the Broadway, Trolley Square, Englewood Marketplace, Phar- Mor Plaza and Cinderella City retail areas together. Mr. Carson asked about the plans for the east side of the 3400 block of South Acoma Street. Mr. Hinson stated that an interim use after construction has ceased will be short-term parking/green area . Mr. Schultz asked how many businesses were eliminated as a result of the re- development project. Mr. Hinson estimated 95 businesses were relocated. Mr. Schultz asked how many businesses have we "put back". Mr. Hinson stated that this figure will have to be determined after the project is completed. Mr. Fish asked if Mr. Hinson could say what the EURA is focusing on after the public improvements are completed. Mr. Hinson stated that the public improve - ments are nearly completed, the last phase being the completion of the Little Dry Creek water features . At this point in time, there are no long-term plans for the EURA other than paying off the bonds. • Mr. Fish asked about the redevelopment of the City Hall site and the area to • the east of City Hall. Mr. Hinson stated that the area to the east of City Hall is parking for First National Bank, and they have made it clear that they intend to make use of the parking area. Mr. Hinson further pointed out that the City currently pays approximately $50,000 per year on the mortgage for the City Hall site. With the revenue shortage the City is experiencing, it is extremely unlikely that the City Hall will be replaced in the foreseeable future. Mr. Hanson asked why the east side of South Acoma Street was not included in the Trammell Crow development. Mr . Hinson stated that this area was included in the offering statement. He stated that neither Ross Investment Group/ Trammell Crow nor Pennant Properties were interested in including this area in their redevelopment proposal . Mr. Hinson also pointed out that there are utilities buried in South Acoma Street , which would have to have been relo- cated to facilitate construction, and the relocation was estimated to cost several hundred thousand dollars. Mr. Schultz asked what the "Broadway people" were being told about the South Acoma Street area. Mr. Hinson stated that there has been discussion of ex- tending the mid-block walkthrough so that there is pedestrian access to the Trammell Crow site, and the possible development of short-te r m parking. At such time as the market picks up, the EURA would put this site out for RFPs to see if a redeveloper can be found who is interested in the site . Mr. Hanson asked about the possible redevelopment of the present Checker Auto site north of Floyd Avenue . Mr. Hinson stated that he felt this area could be a great area for development, citing the proximity to the King Sooper 's and • Trolley Square developments across West Floyd Avenue. -4 - • • • The possible construction of a hotel was discussed. Mr. Schultz asked why consideration wasn't given to involving the hospitals in the hotel occupancy requirement. Mr. Hinson stated that Swedish Medical Center was considered as a major source of generating occupancy for the hotel, but the projected oc- cupancy rate generated by Swedish was not sufficient for the developer to pur- sue the hotel development. Mr. Barbre asked about the "people activity" around the water amenities. Mr. Hinson reviewed the redevelopment of Little Dry Creek and the water amenities that are being constructed, including the recirculation system and the fabri- dam at the mouth of the box culvert. Mr. Hanson asked if there were more questions of Mr. Hinson from members of the Commission. No additional questions were asked. Mr. Hanson expressed the appreciation of the Commission to Mr. Hinson for his attendance. Mr. Hinson excused himself from the meeting. IV. PLANNING COMMISSION CALENDAR Projected Schedule Mr. Wanush stated that a calendar of meetings and projects to be considered at those meetings was included in the packet to the Commission. He suggested that he did not want to delay the discussion of the Goals and Objectives until the second meeting in July, however, and asked that the Commission consider a special meeting for this discussion. Discussion ensued . Carson moved: Fish seconded: The Goals and Objectives be discussed at a special meeting on June 28. The motion carried. Mr. Wanush stated that he anticipated this special meeting to be a "brain storming session", and to present ideas and/or projects the members want to see done in the future. V. PUBLIC FORUM. Mr. Hanson asked Mrs. Dunn if she wanted to address the Commission. Mrs. Dunn declined. VI. DIRECTOR'S CHOICE. There was nothing brought forth for discussion under Director's Choice. VII. COMMISSIONER'S CHOICE. There was nothing brought forth for discussion under Commissioner's Choice . -5 - The meeting adjourned at 8 :25 P.M. Gertrude G. Welty Recording Secretary '"-' / ___ -::}''/ (~<~:-• • • -6 -