Page 38 - Denver, CO Adaptive Reuse Program

i. Consider refining the standards for designated parts of
the corridor.
In light of planning efforts to improve the East Colfax corridor
that consider Bus Rapid Transit and future public realm im-
provements on behalf of the City, the requirements for individ-
ual property improvements should be adjusted accordingly. This
primarily refers to the varying sidewalk width as described above.
Refining these standards to reduce the amount of work placed on
the applicant, when the funds are secured by the City to do the
work at a later date will not only reduce the cost for the applicant
but will add to a more cohesive streetscape in the future. Some of
these concerns may already be addressed by the draft version of
the Complete Streets Guidelines, but refining sidewalk standards is
still critical for adaptive reuse applicants.

ii. Right-size required improvements to the public realm.
Adaptive reuse applicants expressed concern with the require-
ments to dedicate large percentages of their site to improvements
to the public realm, including sidewalks. In addition to being con-
cerned about losing developable land, applicants mentioned the
unpredictable nature of the requirement since it often occurs with
on-site assessments that vary based on the reviewer. While appli-
cants have a responsibility to improve their site, especially when
their project may increase infrastructure demands, requirements
should be made proportional to an adaptive reuse project’s scope
and costs. In the case of land dedication, a cap on the percentage
of project costs that an applicant is required to dedicate to public
realm should be considered. This cap is not meant to indicate that
adaptive reuse projects are not responsible for contributing to the
community as a whole, but is meant to incentivize adaptive reuse
projects. This cap will assist adaptive reuse applicants in making
their project pencil, ensuring that adaptive reuse is feasible and
maintaining the unique character of the buildings along the East
Colfax corridor. In addition to considering a cap on the allowable
costs an adaptive reuse applicant may be required to dedicate to
public realm improvements, consider focusing primarily on ad-
dressing (and defining) safety and hazardous conditions, in addi-
“Expand the” - tion to ADA standards.
need to finish this
thought

34 City of Denver, CO